Angelus Errare: Of Life and Death
by laguna2
Summary: Long FF8 continuation fic. Some time after the events from the game, a strange phenomenon completely puts Squalls life upside down and inside out. So begins his journey to find out what happened. It looks to be a bitter fight once again.
1. AE Chapter 1

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Angelus Errare

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Author's Note: Credit where credit is due; I would have never even begun writing this story if it wasn't for Espergirl and her FF VIII fic entitled "Balance of Power" (can be found at Fanfiction.net). It is without a doubt the best fanfic I have ever read and really inspired me to have a go at creating a fanfic of my own. The game Chrono Cross also inspired some elements of the main plot (and the title of this story)

This fanfic was up before but now it's back and better. Some scenes were altered/deleted, while an occasional new one was added- all to make it a more enjoyable read. I realize that my writing skills are mediocre at best but nevertheless I hope that people who played and liked the FF8 game will read and like my fanfic. 

If you find any horrible mistakes still present, feel free to point them out to me. Email me at Sendit2laguna@hotmail.com ^___^ Also if you give wanna praise or criticize, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Written by -Laguna-

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Chapter 1: The Leap

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"Aaargh! There's no stopping this thing---!!" Zell cried out, slamming his fist hard on the floor. A fierce roar echoed, leaving Zell speechless. The sound was so loud it shook the whole place.

"Oh man!!…i-is it coming o-over here?" Zell asked, not too sure if he wanted to know.

Before anyone answered he withdrew further in the dark corner he, Irvine and Squall were all hiding behind.

"It seems to be heading the other way, towards the girls!!" Irvine gasped after glaring around the corner. "We've gotta do something, FAST!"

-"Hold on!" Squall said when he grabbed Irvine by his shoulder. "Check your equipment first!"

Another roar could be heard. Again the sound of it was so loud it sent a chill down Squall's spine. 

It stunned him for a moment. 

"Squall, man, come on! What are we gonna do?!" Zell uttered. 

He looked up at Zell. He was panicking. Squall wondered if it would be wise for his buddy to attack the beast again. Zell seemed on the point of breakdown. 

Squall looked aside and saw the long shadow moving away from them, towards the girls…towards Rinoa.

"We don't have a choice," He said, getting up. "Irvine, how's our equipment?"

Irvine followed Squall's lead and got up, still staying in the shadows. He shook his head. "It aint good!"

"We gave it everything we got in that last round, there isn't much magic left!" He continued. "Nothing we did against it worked." He shook his again head and sighed. 

Irvine looked down. His hands were trembling, he apparently tried to stop it but couldn't. Squall motioned Zell and Irvine to follow him as he slowly stepped out of the hiding place.

For one moment there was a total silence. Even the steam pipes of the Deep Sea Research Deposit seemed to quiet down for just that one instance.

Squall glanced over his shoulder. Zell and Irvine were right behind him, ready to fight again if needed.

Zell stepped forward and with a glare and a nod in Squall's direction he understood his part.

"YO! Ugly!" Zell screamed across the hall, frantically waving his arms "We're not finished with you just yet!"

Ultima Weapon raised its head, slowly turning around to face Zell.

A nervous grin came across Zell's face. "Oh--kay…now what do we do?"

By now Ultima Weapon had fully turned around and was making his way towards Zell and the others. Each step it took violently shaking the floor. The beast was gigantic. 

Squall tightened his grip on the gunblade and took a fighting stance.

"Hey! Is that the plan? We can't beat it! It's even stronger than Ultimecia was!" Zell screamed as he took a few steps back and stood in one line with Irvine and Squall.

The monster was approaching fast, but still too far away for an accurate hit with any magic, despite its enormous size. 

Squall examined his surroundings. They were standing at the end of a long hallway, behind them was nothing but a huge metal wall. Pipes seemed to be running everywhere. The light was severely muffled as there were but a few light sources along the stretch of the hall. At the end there was a bright light, but they'd have to get past a gigantic monster to reach it.

__

Huh?…Where is this? Squall wondered. _…I can't remember this hallway from last time we were here…_

He re-focused his attention to the approaching Weapon, and came up with an idea. 

"Irvine, I have a plan," Squall said. "But it requires a precise shot…"

Irvine took up a ready-to-shoot stance. "Just tell me what to hit. I'll make it happen." He told Squall, with a certain overconfident, false sense of assurance to it.

Squall pointed to a steam pipe half way between them and the Weapon. "I want you to shoot that pipe."

Irvine glanced up, narrowing his eyes a bit. "Got it!"

"Wait until it's next to it," Squall quickly said. "Then shoot a hole in the pipe at about the height of its eyes. Get the plan?"

Zell grinned. "The high-pressured steam will blind him! Yeah!"

Irvine got down on one knee. He aimed at the pipe with as much precision as he could. "Come on…just a little bit further." He said softly to the beast. 

Ultima Weapon continued to walk towards them as if by command. It stopped as it was exactly next to the pipe Squall had pointed out. Raising its head a bit, it slowly opened its mouth, only to release another loud roar.

Squall turned to Irvine. "Now, fire!"

On this command Irvine checked his cross hair one last time and recovered from the creature's last roar. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he pulled back the trigger. 

Zell and Squall watched the bullet as it was shot from the barrel of Irvine's gun. It was as if everything was in a state of slow motion. Squall could easily follow the course of the bullet despite its tremendous velocity.

__

If this shot misses… He thought _…we're toast_.

Ultima Weapon just stood there, not moving so much as an inch.

Finally, to great relief of Squall there was the sound of a bullet impact on metal. Irvine had hit his intended target with pinpoint accuracy. Hot steam was gushing from the hole in the pipe.

"Okay, run!" Squall ordered. 

Ultima Weapon was screeching in agony from the steam that had reached its eyes as Irvine got up from the floor.

They ran past the beast with all the strength their legs had left. Ultima Weapon was randomly moving about without even knowing where it was going, screaming in pain. Squall was almost hit by its foot but managed to jump aside before it came too close. 

When Squall reached a safe distance from it, he stopped to catch his breath.

"C'mon! It's gonna recover any second now!" Zell yelled back at Squall. He was already far ahead, with Irvine running right along side him.

Squall turned to the creature. He felt sorry for it. It looked so utterly helpless, vulnerable…

One final gasp and Squall was running towards the bright light at the end of the hall again. He saw Irvine and Zell were practically there already.

__

How can they run so fast? Am I so out of shape?? Squall wondered.

He could make out a few distant shapes at the end. There were two…no three…people waiting for them. One of them was lying on the ground. Perhaps injured he concluded.

Another one of them noticed Squall and the others and waved towards them. 

A voice.

Squall couldn't yet make it out over the combined noise of the creature's agony and the steam. But as he ran closer and closer it became apparent it was a woman's voice. 

Irvine and Zell nodded and suddenly stopped to turn to Squall.

-"The door!" Squall heard Irvine shout. 

"What?" Squall asked when he came in closer range of them.

Zell pointed to a spot on the wall. "Push the button over there!"

Nodding, Squall dashed with extra speed towards it. He glanced behind him; Ultima Weapon had regained its sight.

It looked him straight in the eyes. Squall stared back. Whether it was the hot steam or not, it seemed more furious than ever before.

Zell was nervously jumping up and down. "The button Squall! Push the button!" 

There was another fierce roar. Squall was caught by surprise and the shockwave of the sound made him temporarily lose his balance and he fell down on the smooth hallway floor. 

-"Get up Squall, close the door!" a woman's voice called. 

It was a very familiar sound.

Squall picked himself up from the floor, and nearly fell again when he looked at the approaching creature. The sheer speed with which it was coming at him was enough to stun even the best of warriors. Its legs were hardly even touching the floor. It didn't even make the floor tremble this time.

__

Focus, focus! Squall said to himself. 

He narrowed his eyes and found a red button along the wall. He got up and ran without looking back this time.

Squall ran so fast that he nearly smashed against wall when he reached it. There was a rather large red button among a few smaller ones. It was marked 'close airlock'. Without a second thought Squall pushed the button and set the mechanism in motion. Within seconds a large metallic teeth door began to drop from the ceiling. A white line marked where it would close up.

Squall was again gripped by panic as he realized he stood on the wrong side of it. A strange sound echoed through the hall. It originated from Ultima Weapon, but Squall couldn't help but think it sounded just like human laughter. 

__

What's with all this running? Squall wondered as he bolted off yet again. If he could just make it past the white line marked on the floor before either the creature reached him or the door closed up…

"Squall!!" A chorus of voices yelled at the same time. 

The door was closing rapidly. 

__

Why is the door so far away from the button…it makes no sense! Squall thought.

As he ran, he suddenly felt a wave of air just along side of him, followed by a loud clash of metal. Out of the corner of his eyes Squall saw the Weapon's sword hitting the floor with astonishing force. A large crack appeared. 

A fountain of water poured out the entire stretch of it.

With the door almost closed and Weapon practically breathing down his neck, Squall made an all-or-nothing legs first slide using the smooth hall way floor to its fullest.

Ultima Weapon raised its sword up high, ready for the finishing touch. A strange grin appeared over its 'face'.

Squall slid for what appeared an eternity to him, the door ever getting closer to the ground. Its sharp teeth would surely be first to hit it. Then a gigantic sword came falling down at Squall, but stopped just before hitting Squall's face. 

The sharp end of the sword had gotten stuck in the door, temporarily stopping both the sword and the door's downward motion…he sure had lady luck on his side.

Squall's slide suddenly came to a full stop as he hit a small slope created by the Weapon's previous hit.

Weapon braced itself and applied an even greater force to its sword, scratching a line in the large door as it went further down. The sound of it surpassed that of nails on a chalkboard by far.

With one quick role to the left Squall managed to avoid certain doom. This time the sword sank even deeper in the floor, causing water to gush out everywhere, the hallway was going to flood. 

The monster left the sword stuck in the floor, and now raised its huge foot above Squall. There was no way he could get up and run away before getting hit.

"Take cover!" A woman's voice yelled.

Squall rolled face down on the now soaking wet floor and used his arms to cover his head. Suddenly there was an immensely bright light…an explosion could be heard.

When Squall got up he noticed something had hit the ceiling just above Ultima Weapon.

The greater part of the debris from the blast had fallen directly on its head and dust got in its eyes. It took a few steps backward and its foot had missed Squall completely.

-"Ugh…come on…we can't hold this much longer" Zell yelled.

Zell and Irvine had put a loose metal board under the teeth door and in addition to this they were trying to stop it from going down themselves. Squall ran the small stretch needed to cross the white-line with great ease, and performed a roll to get past the low hanging door.

Seconds later the metal board cracked. Zell and Irvine jumped back. The door came crashing down this time, causing a cloud of dust to fly out when it finally reached the floor.

Heavily panting, Squall leaned his head against the wall still eyeing the door.

"Will it hold?" He asked.

-"It will for now." A woman said. 

Squall turned and saw Quistis dusting off her outfit. 

"Everything okay?" She asked standing next to an exhausted Zell and Irvine.

-"I'm fine…" Zell answered. "Just let my blood pressure return to normal, will ya?"

Irvine nodded in agreement with Zell.

Quistis ran her hand through her long blonde hair. "How about you? That was really cutting it close Squall."

He sighed. "Yeah…" 

Suddenly he looked up. "Where's Rinoa?"

Looking down, Quistis crossed her arms. "She…she…was hit."

Squall's eyes widened. He turned to the two figures a bit further down the hall.

"Squall…wait, it's better not to look." Quistis spoke with a soft voice. But she didn't try to stop him.

He ignored her, ran closer and saw Selphie bent over Rinoa whom lay on the cold floor. 

The floor around Rinoa's body was red. She lay with her hands covering her stomach. Blood was all over her.

Squall stopped next to her. "NO!" He yelled as he let himself fall on his knees.

His voice echoed through the remainder of the hallway. 

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her lifeless body. "NO! How can this be?!" He asked with a trembling tone of voice. He heard a faint coughing sound, and as he opened his eyes he saw Rinoa holding out one hand at him.

"She's ALIVE!" Selphie exclaimed. 

Squall took Rinoa's hand, gently squeezing it. Tears were starting to form in his eyes.

"I think she's trying to say something!" Selphie nearly cried out.

Squall slowly picked up Rinoa's head with his other hand. 

A small stream of blood flowed from her mouth down her chin.

-"Take it easy…I'm here." Squall assured her. 

The others rushed to Squall's side. 

Rinoa's eyes were still firmly shut, but her mouth was moving…she was indeed trying to say something.

"What? I can't hear you," Squall said to her. He turned his ear closer to her mouth.

-"Wake up sleepy-head!" She said.

------------------------------------------ 

It felt as though his body weighed at least ten tons as Squall slowly realized he lay in bed in his quarters.

"Wakey, wakey." Squall heard Rinoa say. 

Birds were chirping outside. A cool breeze passed his face. Balamb Garden always was a nice place to wake up in.

But Squall's eyes remained shut and he lay perfectly still.

"Alright then." Rinoa said saucily, hands on her hips. "You asked for it."

She pulled his sheets and uncovered Squall's feet.

Rinoa rolled up her sleeves and stretched her fingers. "Let's see if you can resist my tickle torture." 

Immediately Squall's left eye popped open. "No, I'm awake, I'm awake."

For a few seconds the unexpected brightness completely blinded him. But surely a figure appeared next to him.

"Hey, good morning mister Leonhart, I trust you slept well?" Rinoa joyfully said.

Squall crawled up with his back to the wall holding his hand in front of the light. He now opened both his eyes, slowly they began to focus. Rinoa stood directly next to him. Apparently she had opened up the curtains, and thrown open the window. As Squall regained normal vision, he noticed Rinoa's outfit in particular. She was wearing something he'd never seen before. It looked a lot like a female SeeD's formal uniform, but altered, more festive. 

He couldn't really describe it. But it looked amazing on her.

"Well…actually," Squall said. "I had this weird dream." 

He rested his hand on his forehead. "Involved a lot of running…" 

Looking at Rinoa, he saw a warm smile appear on her face. 

"Was I in your dream?" Rinoa asked. "I was, wasn't I?" 

He sat up straight, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and reached for the floor with his feet. 

"You'd rather I dream of another girl?" Squall replied looking up at her.

Rinoa gave Squall a surprised look. "Hey, careful now," She said. "You're developing a sense of humor. This could be dangerous."

Squall shook his head. "Whatever…"

"There you go again with the 'whatever'-thing," Rinoa chuckled. 

She extended her arm towards Squall. "Need a hand getting up?" 

"No thanks. Just give me a minute." He replied.

Rinoa placed her hands on her hips again. "Hurry up already."

Squall looked across the room at the small clock hanging on the opposite side of the door.

She followed his gaze. "Yes, it IS breakfast time. So get up mister."

Another cool breeze entered the room. Squall shivered a bit.

__

No wonder. He thought. _The window's completely opened_!

Squall yawned and stretched his arms. He stood up and made his way over to the bathroom. The only things he wore were shorts and a smudgy old T-shirt. Shaking, he made it past the window. 

"So what was the dream about?" Rinoa asked, still standing next to Squall's bed.

Squall turned the water valve at the sink in the bathroom and splashed some water on his face.

-"It was actually more of a nightmare." He said, grabbing a nearby towel. It took him a few seconds to realize he was standing on the cold bathroom floor-tiles with bare feet. He quickly grabbed another towel and placed it on the floor.

Rinoa moved closer to the bathroom door then turned her back to it, not wanting to give him the wrong impression.

She shrugged. "Well, don't they have a meaning sometimes?"

Grabbing a comb, Squall peered into the mirror and focused his attention on his hair. It was a real mess.

"If that is true," He said. "Then I think it told me I run too slow."

A giggling sound came from the bedroom. Squall peeked and noticed Rinoa standing with her back to the door, holding her hands close to her mouth. 

"But I'll tell you about it later," Squall continued. "I'll just get dressed now and we'll head down to the cafeteria." 

"Cafeteria?!" Rinoa pouted. "Did you forget?"

Squall found his socks on the other side of the bathroom and tiptoed over there on the icy floor.

He sat down on the small radiator attached to the wall. 

__

What did I forget? Squall wondered as he put on his warm socks. _…Best remember fast_

He could just imagine her standing there, hands on her hips, face assuming pout mode…

"Well? Did you?" Rinoa impatiently asked Squall. 

Squall glanced around the bathroom. "Uhm, could you hand me my clothes? They're on the chair."

"Hmph, changing the subject are we?" Rinoa asked as she moved to fetch his clothes.

She examined the pile Squall had laid out. "Hey, are you gonna wear this outfit AGAIN?" 

It was the same outfit Squall wore during their struggle against the sorceress Ultimecia a few weeks ago. His battle outfit, his favorite outfit. Rinoa didn't like it one bit, she didn't want to be reminded of all that transpired. 

Squall's hand appeared around the corner of the bathroom door. "Yeah." He simply said. "Give me that."

The clothes came flying across the room in the general direction of his hand. All but his belt fell on the floor. 

"Whoops, sorry!" Rinoa hastily excused.

Squall groaned and gathered the pieces of clothing from the floor. As he was picking up the last item, he noticed a picnic basket next to the door. 

__

Ah ha! He thought.

"The picnic, of course I remember." Squall told her confidently as he proceeded getting dressed.

The door to the Garden hall slid open. "I'll wait for you in front of the cafeteria then." Rinoa said picking up her basket.

__

The Cafeteria after all? Squall thought. _Hmm, no, guess she needs to stock up on food first…_

Slowly the door closed again, reminding Squall of his nightmare. Strange how he never realized it was a dream. That hallway probably didn't exist. And Ultima Weapon wasn't really big enough to crush him with one foot..was it? Seemed so long ago now. 

He dismissed those thoughts as he buckled his belt. The slugs of gunblade ammo he left stored in their little boxes.

Squall walked towards the cupboard next to his bed, and found his black gloves there. His boots he found partly shoved under the bed. He sat down and put both his gloves and boots on as if preparing for battle. 

He walked towards the hallway and grabbed his jacket, hanging besides the exit. The door slid open again and a strange sensation came over Squall. 

"Am I forgetting something?" He asked himself, looking around the room. His gunblade was safely locked away in a small chest on a desk in the corner. Other than that Squall couldn't think of anything else he could have forgotten.

He shrugged his shoulders. They were just going to have a picnic nearby Balamb Garden, he couldn't see why he needed to bring a weapon. Maybe it was just his survival instincts acting up. But it's not like he and Rinoa were going to have a duel or some such thing…

-"Good morning Sir." A passing student said, out in the hallway. She looked vaguely familiar to him, but her name didn't come to mind.

"Good morning." Squall replied. The door closed up behind him. 

__

Oh, of course. He thought, turning to a digital pad on the wall next to his quarters. 

"Lock." He told it. 

A light blinked. The words 'please enter code' appeared on the small screen above the pad.

Almost automatically Squall punched in 2-5-3. The light blinked again and the words 'code confirmed' now appeared. 

He walked off towards the Cafeteria. Somehow, he couldn't get rid of the feeling he was forgetting something important. It nagged at him but he repressed it. Whatever it was, it would have to wait 'till after the picnic. 

When Squall neared the end of the Dormitory hall, he could hear the faint sound of clashing metal. Even early in the morning, the Training Center could be a busy place. It reminded Squall of the many hours he used to spend there.

__

Perhaps after the picnic I'll go in for a few rounds

There weren't many students in the main hall; the first classes of the day had already started. And the total number of students was still low since they had lost more than just a handful during the battle between Balamb- and Galbadia Garden. But things were returning to normal. People went on with their lives, some already starting to forget what had happened, how close the world really came to destruction.

Footsteps clicked against the floor behind him.

-"Hey Squall." Quistis said as she walked up beside him. She wore her instructor uniform and was carrying a pile of books and paper. She was using pens to hold her long hair up in a braid- all in all she couldn't have looked more teachery.

"Good morning." He greeted. "Don't you have a class to teach?"

She shook her head. "No, mine starts the second period. I have a whole troop of ten year olds."

"Good luck with that." Squall said sincerely. He'd rather go hand to hand with an Iron Giant than face those young punks. It was a new generation of Selphies, Seifers and Zells- a scary thought. 

Quistis tightened her arms around the books she was holding. "It'll be my first class since I was deemed unqualified..."

Squall remembered the conversation Quistis had with Headmaster Cid a few days earlier. Due to a lack of Instructors she had been re-instated. And also to teach the next generation SeeDs about the Ultimecia ordeal- prepare them to handle these and other threats, should they ever arise. 

-"You'll do fine Quistis." Squall assured her.

The same surprised look Rinoa had shown now came over Quistis. 

"Why thank you Squall." She said. "That doesn't really seem like something the old Squall would say though."

Quistis smiled. "Guess Rinoa's really having a positive effect on you."

Squall shrugged. "What-"

"Ever..." Quistis giggled as she finished the sentence before Squall could.

They walked into the main hall of the Garden and saw Rinoa standing in front of the Cafeteria. Pacing about impatiently.

-"Hello Instructor." Rinoa greeted with a smile.

"Oh please," Quistis said as she nudged Rinoa with her elbow. "You can call me Quistis."

Strange odors hung in the air. 

Squall traced the scent back to the Cafeteria. _Hmm, wonder what's being served?_

"Aw okay." Rinoa sobbed. "But I DO think Instructor sounds better. Don't you?"

Covering his forehead with his hand, Squall got the definite feeling he was about to be standing in the middle of a girl-talk conversation. Hand to hand with an Iron Giant seemed more and more appealing. 

"Hey, wow, where did you get those clothes?" Quistis asked, surprised at Rinoa's stunning outfit.

__

Oh boy, I knew it… Squall said to himself.

"Well," Rinoa was about to go into blabber mode, but she turned to Squall. "Uhm, hey, why don't you go check up on Zell and Irvine? I think I saw them in the Cafeteria."

-"Sure." He said calmy. He knew from past experience that he couldn't seem too eager about it. 

As he walked towards the Cafeteria, the scent became increasingly repellent. Whatever was cooking sure had been over-done.

Glancing across the room Squall noticed Zell, Irvine and Selphie sitting at the table by the big window. There was a small line waiting to get food. A few students sat at the tables. 

Zell was yapping, whilst Irvine and Selphie sat close together on the other side of the table hardly paying much attention to his rants at all.

"So anyway, there I was against this huge cactus-like monster, right?" Zell was in the middle of another story. "I told it to get lost or I would booyaka it so hard it would kiss the moon." 

His body sagged. "And..uh..that's about the time it 'ker-plunked' on me."

"Hey Squally!" Selphie exclaimed cheerily as she noticed him walk up. "Grab a seat, won't ya?"

She pointed at Zell. "Pssst, don't mind him Squall, he's in a weird mood today."

Zell launched a few pieces of sprouts at Selphie. "Hey I hate these damn vegetables."

"GROSS!" Selphie screamed. 

She noticed most of the people in the Cafeteria turned to see what the commotion is about.

Quickly she put on a smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing to see here folks." 

"Why would anyone eat sprouts for breakfast?" Squall asked, drawing a very confused look.

Chuckling, Selphie noticed Zell giving the lunch-lady an annoyed glare.

"He didn't finish his vegetables yesterday. So now instead of hotdog he gets sprouts!" Selphie explained to Squall. 

A pack of brown beans came flying towards Selphie. "Oh yeah," She said wiping most of them off. "I forgot the brown beans…"

"Now, now. Food fights are sooo immature." Irvine said as he threw what was left of his hotdog at Zell. It missed him and landed on the floor.

Slowly Squall grabbed a seat and sat down, not really sure he wanted to be seen with them.

"HEY!" Zell yelled as he leaped on the ground to pick up the hotdog. "Don't EVER waste a hotdog like that!" He scolded at Irvine. 

Irvine picked up his hat from the table. "Well, I was only saving this cutie here from a food-throwing maniac."

Zell had cupped the left over piece of hotdog in his hands. "My preciouss…"

Irvine yawned and slowly moved his arms to the other side of Selphie's shoulder. 

"You had better not be doing that old yawn-and-hug trick Irvine. That's so old." Selphie warned him without turning around to look.

Quickly Irvine yawned again and crossed his arms. 

__

Shoot, He thought. _Mission failed_.

Squall raised an eyebrow when he saw how Zell was now cleaning the hotdog thrown on the floor with his sleeve. 

Selphie too was closely watching him. "You are NOT going to eat that, are ya?" 

Wiping some dust off the hotdog, Zell opened his mouth as far as he could. Drooling, he moved the hotdog closer. With his free hand he shoved his plate with vegetables to the other side of the table.

"Who needs that stuff, when I gots me a hotdog!" He said.

"EEW!! A spider!!" Selphie exclaimed. 

Everyone in the Cafeteria turned to see what the commotion was this time. They all shook their heads as the realized it was only Selphie again. Nothing to worry about, false alarm.

Zell paused for a moment, his eyes trying to focus on the hotdog he held just under his nose. His eyes crossed and Zell had never looked sillier.

Irvine grinned. "Where's a camera when you need one?"

-"There's a spider on MY hotdog?!" Zell blurted, trying to inspect every inch of the hotdog.

Irvine smacked his forehead. "No, there is no spider. Selphie was just kidding."

Not a second later, Zell threw the hotdog high up in the air, and caught it with his mouth.

A few choking sounds later he swallowed it whole, eyes tearing, slamming his fist on the table in the process. 

"Although Selphie probably thought those little hairs on it looked like a spider." Irvine laughed.

Zell's eyes went wide and he grabbed his throat. 

"Water!!" He yelled and burst away from the table.

-"Oh yeah, and I always enjoy the extra hot sauce on my hotdogs!" Irvine yelled in his direction. 

"So Squall, what's up?" Irvine said as he casually sat back and enjoyed the good view of passing female students.

A sudden smack on the back of his head made him fall forwards. His face landed in Zell's plate of beans and sprouts. 

Laughter echoed throughout the Cafeteria. 

"Serves you right." Selphie told him. "First making moves on me then staring at other girls…"

"I'm sowwy." Irvine mumbled with his face still in Zell's breakfast. 

Selphie patted his head and giggled. "Hey, stay there for a while, why don't ya?"

His thumb was raised up high. "Yes ma'am…" He mumbled. "…By the way, I think these beans are giving me gas."

"So Squally, what's up? You've been kinda quiet." Selphie said as she moved her chair a bit further away from Irvine.

He turned around and saw Rinoa was still talking to Quistis at the Cafeteria entrance. 

"I have this picnic with Rinoa." He said. He didn't exactly seem enthusiastic about it.

Selphie clapped her hands together. "Oh! That's sooo romantic." She exclaimed.

Irvine raised his hand. "Uhm…I have a question." He said. "Could I maybe, possibly get up now? I can't breathe."

-"Well…okay." Selphie replied. She pulled Irvine up straight by his shoulders.

As he sat back in his chair, Irvine took a deep breath. "Whoa…fresh air. I forgot what that was like."

"Squall was just telling me about how he and Rinoa were going on a picnic." Selphie told Irvine, nudging him.

Irvine raised an eyebrow and waved his hat in front of his face. "Man, I smell like beans."

Irvine's face lit up. "Oh! Would you like to go on a picnic with ME later today?" 

-"No way." Zell said as he ran back and plopped down in his chair. His face was all wet. 

Selphie got up and hugged Irvine. "I would." 

She giggled. "You were right though, you DO smell like beans." 

Selphie waving at Quistis and Rinoa, and got up. Of course now she wanted to share the good news with her friends.

"See ya later guys."

-"Hey! If you're gonna eat my vegetables, at least finish it." Zell yelled as he looked at his plate. 

Irvine ignored him and looked around. "Hmm, now is my chance." He noticed a group of girls sitting at a nearby table and got up to join them.

Zell scratched the back of his head. "So…just you and my now, huh Squall?"

Squall sat staring out the window. 

…

Zell's body sagged. "Well at least say SOMETHING." 

Squall thought for a moment and turned to Zell. "Hey, where's that girl with a pigtail you liked?" 

"Okay, say anything but THAT." Zell sighed. "She, uhm…left me."

He grinned. "She said I was too immature…can you believe that?"

"No. Can't imagine where she got that idea." Squall said as honestly as possible.

He then stared at Zell for moment.

"W-what? I got something stuck between my teeth?" Zell asked, feeling uncomfortable under Squall's gaze.

-"No that's not it." Squall replied. "I was just thinking, you were with me and Irvine when we explored the Deep Sea Deposit, right?"

Nodding, Zell affirmed him. "Yeah, and we sure did kick that Weapon's ass!"

Zell noticed Squall's face grew serious. "Why do you ask? Not to reminisce I suppose?"

-"Is it possible we overlooked a room, or rather hall-way of some sort?" Squall asked.

Scratching the back of his head, Zell pondered for a moment.

"Dunno really. I didn't fully figure out the mechanism behind the steam and stuff, so I guess it's possible." Zell said. "Should we go check? I bet Selphie could fly us there in the Ragnarok."

-"No. I just had this vivid dream about a hall there. Was probably just that, a dream…" Squall replied.

Zell sagged.

"Dude, that reminds me of my dream of being Ward in that desert prison." He uttered. "THE most boring dreaming one person could ever have."

Squall shrugged. "At least you didn't dream you were a moron."

Raising an eyebrow, Zell wondered what Squall meant by that. _What moron?_

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "You mean Laguna? Gee..that's kinda cruel."

After suddenly banging his fist together, Zell jumped up and down his seat as if he had a rocket up his ass.

"Man, I can't sit still for too long or I'll go nuts!" He explained.

He got up and started punching the air. "Don't you miss all the fighting and stuff, Squall?"

Squall got up as well. Zell took a few steps back and covered his face.

"Zell?" Squall asked. "Is something wrong?"

Slowly Zell uncovered his face again. His face glowing in a reddish color. 

"Phew, for a second there I thought you were gonna hit me for saying that." He said with a relieved tone of voice.

-"No, I'm gonna eat some breakfast now, I hope." Squall assured him. 

Rinoa was still talking to Quistis, and Selphie had joined their discussion as well. But Squall's stomach was churning and he was determined to get some food. He was starving…

Sighing with relief, Zell sat down again.

"Yeah, it is kinda stupid to hit a person just because that person asks if you miss fights." Zell contemplated with a very thoughtful and serious look. "I mean if you think about it. That's like Irvine calling for stricter gun control laws…hehe." 

"Hey Squall? How about you and me go in for a few fights later at the Training Center?" Zell asked. "I know you haven't been training much lately so I…uh…Squall?" 

Zell looked up and saw Squall moving towards the Cafeteria entrance.

"Hmph. Guess some things never change." He said. 

Zell reached for his 'breakfast'-plate and quickly threw it in the thrashcan next to the table. 

-"HEY!" The lunch-lady yelled across the room. "I saw that young man! No hotdogs for you this week."

Zell moaned and groaned, banging his head against the table repeatedly.

"I'm a SeeD," He said to himself out loud. "SeeDs deserve hotdogs!"

He looked aside and saw how Irvine got water splashed in his face by a several girls at the same time.

__

Hmm, guess I'm not the only one having a bad day. He thought.

"Ready to go?" Squall asked as he walked up to Rinoa.

She gave him a slightly annoyed look. "I am in the middle of a conversation here dear."

-"Naw that's okay Rinoa. You two go and have your picnic." Selphie assured her. "Tee-hee!"

"Yeah, that's fine. Have a good time you two." Quistis added. She examined the books she was holding.

"I still have to prepare for my class. I'll catch you later." She said and searched across the Cafeteria for an empty table.

A soaking wet Irvine was just retreating. As he walked past Squall and the girls he threw up his hands.

"Don't ask." He said then jogged off towards the dormitories. 

-"Need any help with that Quis?" Selphie said pointing towards the books Quistis was holding.

Quistis nodded and handed Selphie a few of the larger books she carried. 

"Now let's find a table. Preferably not too close to Zell." She said giggling; noticing Zell was banging his head against the table over and over. "He seems to be…causing permanent brain damage at the moment."

Squall glanced at the picnic basket Rinoa had put on the floor. Just as he tried to open the lid, Rinoa slapped him on his hand. 

"H-ey, wait 'till we find us a good spot." Rinoa said trying to sound angry. 

A churning sound came from Squall's stomach.

"Oh dear," Rinoa laughed. "Best hurry."

------------------------------------------

The sun was shining brightly as Squall and Rinoa walked over the fields near Balamb.

-"Here's a good spot." Rinoa said as she put down her basket.

She picked a spot in the lush green grass just next to a small tree. From there they could overlook a large stretch of the beach and the beautiful blue ocean. Wave after wave came rolling across the beach...

Besides a few chirping birds, there weren't any other creatures in sight.

"C'mon Squall, sit down already," Rinoa ordered. "And help me unpack."

Squall moved to Rinoa's basket and grabbed a few packed sandwiches from it. With a thud Squall quickly sat down.

__

Finally! He thought _I have some food_.

Rinoa picked up some more items from her basket and sat down next to Squall.

-"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She said as she looked up.

They sat under a clear cerulean sky. 

Squall handed Rinoa a sandwich and took one himself. He took a few large bites and it was gone.

-"Wow, you really were hungry." Rinoa laughed. She stared at Squall for a minute. He sat up straight and looked out across the sea.

-"Is something bothering you Squall?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. A sudden gush of wind flowed through his hair. He narrowed his eyes a bit.

"I don't know," He said. "But it feels like there's some unfinished business. Like I've forgotten something."

Rinoa moved to sit on her knees behind Squall's back. 

-"I know what you need." She said. "A relaxing massage!" 

"No thank you."

Above them a flock of seagulls flew by. 

-"Oh come on." Rinoa said as she hung around Squall's neck, gently hugging him. "You're so tense…" 

They both stared at the seagulls flying out over the sea until they were out of sight.

Rinoa sighed and got up, reaching for the cans of soda she brought. 

-"How many times do you need to save the world before you'll relax?" She asked, plopping down next to him again.

Squall opened his can of soda and took a few sips. 

"As many as times necessary." He said with a serious look.

Playfully punching Squall in the stomach, she grinned. "That's so noble of you."

-"My knight in shining armor." She continued.

"Yeah…" He mumbled.

Rinoa rested her head against Squall's shoulder. "Hey Squall?" 

He turned his head slightly. "Yes?"

-"Is Laguna really your father?" She asked. "I overheard you and Quistis talk about it yesterday."

"Yeah. I believe so." Squall said with a worried look. "But he never actually told me this."

"Just that he wanted to see me after we defeated Ultimecia." Squall continued. "But I'm not sure I want to see him…"

With a smile Rinoa assured Squall whatever he thought was best was okay with her.

Suddenly a shot of pain ran through Squall. It felt like someone was pounding his head with a hammer.

He cringed and moved his hand against his forehead.

"I think I'm coming down with something." He said. "I don't feel so good. Maybe I'd better go."

Rinoa put her arm around Squall. "Just a bit longer…" She whispered. "You know once this moment has passed it will never come again…"

With a nod Squall agreed. His head still aching.

"And Seifer…" Squall realized. "What about him?"

-"I think he knows he was wrong. I doubt we'll get any trouble from him anymore." Rinoa tried to assure Squall who still wasn't fully convinced. "Last I heard, he was staying in Fisherman's Horizon."

"As long as he just stays there." Squall said, taking a few more sips from his soda.

-"You worry too much." Rinoa concluded. 

She pointed at a small cake she had brought with her.

"Be a dear, and hand me a piece of that cake I got from the lunch-lady. It looks delicious." Rinoa said looking at Squall with puppy dog eyes.

Squall sighed and bent forward, simply grabbing the whole cake.

"There you go." He said. 

Surprised by a sudden nudge from Rinoa, Squall raised an eyebrow. "What??" 

Giggling, she shook her head. 

"You're supposed to feed me pieces goof." She said. "That's what couples do."

"Yeah well, I forgot to read the manual on this." Squall explained.

He broke off a small piece and fed Rinoa. "Happy now?" He asked.

-"Hmm, food's excellent. Lousy service though." Rinoa laughed and turned to Squall.

-"It wouldn't hurt to smile." She said as she noticed his troubled look.

She shrugged and tried to imitate Squall's expression. 

"Hey, cut that out. I'm just not used to smiling, okay?" He explained.

Rolling up her sleeve, Rinoa turned to Squall. "I'll just have to work on that, now won't I?"

"Sure." Squall said slightly grinning. "Just don't expect me to turn out as hyper as Selphie."

Rinoa laughed, and snuggled up even closer to Squall. 

Images suddenly flashed through Squall's mind. They were vague and dark like old photographs, yet at the same time so very clear. Clearer than memories or dreams. He sees a figure looking at him from a distance. This figure closes with each image until he or she is almost within reach. A laugh. Everything goes dark but the same twisted laughter keeps echoing. 

"Hey, Squall you don't look so good." Rinoa said waving her hand in front of his face. 

He shook his head and realized he was still sitting next to Rinoa in the fields near Balamb Garden.

As he stood up a blue circle appeared on the ground around him. It flashed brightly and began swirling.

__

What?! 

Terrified, Rinoa backed away from Squall and in doing so tripped over a small stone. 

Squall reached for his head with both hands. The sudden headache had returned, far worse now than before. He had to fight a severe pain to stay focused.

"What's going on!" Squall yelled trying to make sense of everything.

He turned to Rinoa. She lay on the ground staring at Squall with wide eyes. Tears appeared . 

"Squall, what's happening to you?" She demanded to know.

The air around Squall's body lit up dark blue. He stretched his arms in front of him, closely examining them.

-"Is Ellone doing this?!" Rinoa asked.

"Ugh…I…don't…know…!" Squall barely managed to say under the excruciating pain he felt. 

He tried to walk towards Rinoa. She got up from the grass and extended her arm towards him. He could feel the air pushing at him from all sides, as if he was slowly imploding. 

"Grab my hand Squall!" Rinoa shouted, tears now rolling down her face.

He could see her mouth move but couldn't hear what she was saying. 

A blinding light emanated from where Rinoa stood and in the blink of an eye she disappeared right in front of Squall. 

Then the blue circle widened on the ground around him and became white. Streams of light now whirled around Squall, like tentacles growing upwards to the sky. 

As he looked down, the very ground he stood on faded and Squall fell through the void it left.

Everything turned black.


	2. AE Chapter 2

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by -_Laguna_-

============================

**

    Chapter 2
**: Confusion 

Squall slowly and groggily awoke to the sounds of splashing water. He found himself lying on his back in the grass right where he and Rinoa had their picnic. As he sat up straight, he could see the small stone Rinoa tripped over, and the tree that provided a bit of shade.

__

What did just happen?! He asked himself.

He carefully felt the ground around him with his hands, wondering what happened to the hole he remember falling through. But to no big surprise, the slightly moist grassy soil was as solid as it should be, and around him everything seemed in order as well. The Balamb plains looked as peaceful as ever. 

But…where was Rinoa?

Squall peered around but couldn't see anyone. Nor could he find any evidence of their picnic. The basket was gone, complete with any traces of food. There weren't even any crumbs left behind. 

__

Did I…dream everything? Squall wondered. 

"Aah!" He yelled out in pain as he got another sudden burst of headache. Whatever happened was, like the pain, very real, he concluded. Jumping up, Squall looked around again. In the distance he could see the town of Balamb. It was too far away to be able to tell if anyone was there.

He turned to the direction of Balamb Garden but couldn't see it because of a hill in between.

__

Hmm, He thought. _From up there I'll have a better view_.

As he started walking towards the hilltop he nearly fell over. Obviously whatever had happened to him was more than just falling asleep during a picnic. But Squall wasn't ready to start making wild guesses yet and waited a bit to regain his sense of balance, then he moved on, determined. 

"Rinoa!" He yelled several times and after the last time he waited. There came no reply. He only heard the sound of waves rolling gently on the beach. 

Squall topped the hill and Balamb Garden came into his view. He was relieved to spot some students walking in front of the Garden. He had felt very alone waking up in the middle of the Balamb plains, more than he consciously realized even, but now he was back home. 

He walked at first, until he reached the road that snaked across the plains towards the Garden. There he began to run for no particular reason. Rinoa was fine, he convinced himself -all the while going faster- she was probably inside the Garden. Still he ran faster and faster, not knowing why but feeling strangely compelled to as if he needed to catch up with her, or risk losing her for good… 

The students at the Front Gate noticed a man running towards them and sprung into action.

"Stop right there!" One of them yelled when Squall was nearly there.

Amazed by the number of students suddenly standing around him, he stopped before crossing the Gates. The students were armed with guns and blades. Their outfits were smudged, and stained. 

Squall instinctively held up his hands, aware of threatening looks and stances, although he had absolutely no idea what went on. The students had been guarding the Gates he understood now, but he didn't see why they seemed to regard him, of all people, as a trespasser. And there were the weapons, and stained uniforms. He wondered if there had there been a battle while he was out. 

An older looking student approached him though stayed exactly an arm length away. The small rectangular tag on his uniform read B. Liosa. 

Squall wasn't in much of a mood for shaking hands either but this was more than just that. 

"Your ID please." The student who was clearly the leader asked, tone neutral, but with a sword held in his hand.

Even though it didn't need to be used much, everyone at the Garden was required to keep an ID card with them at all times. Even on picnics…

Slowly with one hand Squall reached for his coat pocket. He was aware the guards were watching his every move with a worrying kind of suspicion, some -though they tried to hide it- with a certain amount of fear.

-"I don't think he carries a weapon, Sir." One of the other, younger students reported. He was holding a relatively small electronic device. "But I do detect one junctioned GF. There may be more but I can't identify them."

The older one gestured for a student to fetch Squall's ID card from his hand. 

"Why are you carrying a Guardian Force, Sir?" Liosa questioned with quite a degree of intimidation. And the way he said 'sir' was more the friendly-to-civilians way than it was respect for someone of higher rank.

"I always keep one GF junctioned at all times." Squall told him. "And I don't want to be out on the Balamb plains without sufficient defense. I'd have to check to see what I'm carrying right now."

He looked like he understood only too well. "That won't be necessary."

Squall's ID card now got more attention than he did, so he took the time to observe the Garden. What were just specs when he was up on the hill, now were holes and tares in the Garden's exterior. It looked different from when he had last seen it. Worse, definitely. 

-"What happened here?" He asked.

The students however were more interested in his identity than in giving answers. 

-"Squall Leonhart. A high-rank SeeD apparently." Liosa said out loud, still keeping his eyes on Squall. "The Headmaster must have called for reinforcements as well as supplies."

Squall looked increasingly puzzled. _What does he mean…?_

Then he sheathed his sword. "Stand down."

"I'm sorry for all this Sir. But it's necessary." He excused, handing Squall his ID card back.

He turned around. 

"Nida!" He called. "Escort him to the Cafeteria."

Still under influence of confusion Squall wasn't sure what to do, and saluted the older student.

He smiled and saluted back. "We don't have much SeeDs here, always good to have one more."

"Has anyone see Rinoa? Rinoa Heartilly?" Squall asked. 

-"Who is that?" One of them asked and a discussion lit up.

The older student ordered them to quiet down.

"I have heard of her." He said. "But I'm not sure where she is now. You should talk to the SeeDs here. They're all in the Cafeteria now, having a meeting."

-"This way Sir." Nida said, gesturing Squall to follow.

Nodding, Squall walked right behind Nida. As he looked back, he saw the students resume patrolling the entrance. 

He turned to Nida. It was the same person he graduated with, the same Nida that flew the Garden. But there was something wrong. He was wearing a student uniform.

-"Were you demoted?" Squall asked as they walked past the fountain and near the main entrance.

"Demoted?" Nida asked with a surprised look. "No Sir."

As they entered the main hall, Squall noticed structural damage on the inside as well. There were holes in the ceiling and walls, and debris was lying around everywhere here and there on the floor. It wasn't severe enough to worry about everyone's safety…but it sure looked nasty. 

Squall suddenly stopped. One thing at a time now. _Nida_ _wasn't demoted? Then why isn't he in SeeD uniform…?_

Nida turned and looked at him questioningly. 

-"You are a SeeD, right?" Squall asked just to check. "You graduated after the Dollet exam?"

Looking down at the floor, Nida's body sagged a little "No, I didn't pass the exam."

"Well, anyway," Nida changed the subject with haste, looking up at Squall again. "The Cafeteria is over there. Do you want me to walk you there, Sir?"

-"No that won't be necessary." Squall replied, hiding his state of shock as his mind was racing to figure things out. . 

He watched Nida walk off to the Garden entrance then turned to examine the interior of the Garden further.

"Something is very wrong with this picture." Squall said to himself. Bullet shells were lying between the debris. Both had been swept aside in piles to prevent obstruction of the main hall. Students walked past it without so much as looking at it. They all had serious looks on their faces. Not one of them seemed to be smiling.

A jogging junior student passed Squall.

"Hey. Slow down for a minute." Squall ordered. 

The student stopped and turned around. He was still in running motion but remained still. 

-"Sir?"

Squall pointed at one of the holes in the wall. "What happened here?"

The young student sighed. "Ah, that's from a battle between this Garden and Galbadia Garden. A few weeks ago."

He narrowed his eyes and stared at Squall. "Where have you been? Inside a cave or sumthin'?"

"That was all. Move along." He told the kid.

Playfully the young student playfully saluted Squall and bolted off.

Noticing a bench next to the lobby board, Squall took a seat. 

Squall ran his hands through his hair.

__

What's going on? He wondered. _Nida didn't graduate. The damage of the battle with Galbadia Garden is still there_._ How is this possible?_

-"Is everything okay with you young man?" A feminine voice asked.

Squall looked up. Doctor Kadowaki stood in front of him.

She tilted Squall's head a bit. "Are you injured?"

-"No." Squall answered, removing his hands from his head so he didn't give the impression he had an injury there. 

She sat down next to him. "Then what's wrong?"

-"Rinoa. She…she suddenly disappeared out in the fields." Squall explained. 

Shaking her head, Doc Kadowaki held out her clipboard in front of her.

"Let's see now…Rinoa Heartilly, yes?" She asked sifting through the pages.

He nodded.

"Ah, there it is. Rinoa was dropped off in Timber some time ago." She said.

Squall glared at the doctor questioningly. 

"What? That's impossible! She was here this morning."

Doc Kadowaki shifted through the pages on her clipboard again. 

"No, I'm sorry. If she was here I would have known." She said. "You see, I'm charged with keeping the records of students, SeeDs, Instructors and any other people staying here at this Garden. I have to be very meticulous about it these days, you know."

His face fell. "This can't be…"

Taking a pencil, the doctor shifted to the last page in her clipboard.

"And you are Squall Leonhart? A SeeD?" She asked. "I just got a call from the gate saying you had arrived."

He jumped up from the bench staring at Dr. Kadowaki with eyes wide.

"What?" He exclaimed. "You don't know who I am?!"

-"Calm down Mr. Leonhart, please." Dr. Kadowaki urged. 

She looked at her clipboard again. 

"There isn't any previous record of you being here, did you come from Trabia Garden?" She asked Squall.

__

This isn't real. This can't be happening! He thought.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good." The doctor asked.

-"My forehead hurts." Squall sighed. The way he had exploded just now had hurt, so he forced himself to indeed calm down and to not got emotional- an old habit he was quite good at. 

He glanced in the direction of the Cafeteria. "The other SeeDs are in there?" He asked.

Dr. Kadowaki stood up, and followed Squall's gaze. "Yes, I believe so." 

"Now, should I note you as Squall Leonhart, SeeD from Trabia Garden?" 

He sighed heavily and reached for his ID Card. 

"Read what it says right here." He told her, handing his card. This should proof it.

-"…Stationed at Balamb Garden…" Kadowaki read out loud. She sounded as perplexed as Squall had been feeling the last ten minutes. 

She handed back his card and made a note on her clipboard. 

-"I'm sorry," She said with a sudden worried look. "Things have been very chaotic around here."

She left and he watched her go back to the Infirmary. Squall shrugged and walked over to a nearby, small hole in the floor. It had been created by several gunshots, the empty shells still lying close to it. Whoever had swept the main hall clean after the battle wasn't very thorough. 

Picking up one of the bullets from the floor, Squall examined it.

__

Definitely Galbadian standard issue slugs. He realized. Maybe he'd had hoped to find blanks, which would possibly prove some sort of elaborate joke on Selphie's part. She did love organizing things… 

Squall looked up as he heard loud footsteps from the direction of the Training Center. Zell was running as fast as he could towards the Cafeteria. 

"Zell, wait!" Squall called, but he didn't hear him. Sighing, Squall ran after him, hoping to get some answers. 

Before Dr. Kadowaki reported back to her post in the Infirmary, she approached the Garden Faculty guarding the entrance.

-"What can I help you with doctor?" The Garden Faculty asked in the usual drone-like voice.

Slightly trembling, she cleared her throat. "Call Headmaster Cid, tell him to get down here right now. I think there's a spy in the Garden." 

------------------------------------------

"Halt!" Two Garden faculty guarding the Cafeteria yelled in synchrony as Squall approached. The two dark-robed figures side stepped towards each other and formed a barrier, blocking the narrow corridor. Squall gave him an annoyed look, and showed his ID card once more. Another thing he didn't understand, why did he constantly have to identify himself?

The guards examined the card for a moment until they got out of the way, motioning Squall he could proceed.

-"Why all the guards?" Squall asked in an attempt to grasp the situation in the Garden.

"We are vulnerable right now, so we expect an attack from the Galbadians." The Garden Faculty explained. "Thus Commander Gantt tightened the security around here." 

__

Commander…Gantt? Squall thought. The name didn't sound familiar. He considered it was possible he was a Commander at Trabia Garden and was now stationed here. But last Squall checked he was in command of Balamb Garden. He wondered now how long he had been out in the fields. 

He headed inside the Cafeteria. 

Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and one man Squall didn't recognize were standing around a table in the middle of the room. A large worldmap lay on the table with several dozen pieces of paper along side it.

Quistis crossed her arms. "The refueling should be done tomorrow, they're working as fast as they can."

"With Esthar still licking its wounds, things don't look good for us." Irvine told them. "Where are the Galbadians now?"

Quistis studied the map for a second. "We believe they're--"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him approaching. The others around the table eyed Squall. He walked up and stood with them in a circle.

-"Okay, what game are you playing with me? What is going on?!" He demanded to know. He was near to exploding again but a faint headache reminded him this was a bad idea. 

Zell banged his fists together. "Game? Hey man, this is serious!"

"Dincht, can it." The longhaired man standing at the head of the table said. 

Squall took a moment to examine this newcomer. He looked in his early twenties. He was wearing a SeeD battle outfit; black body armor, thick outfit- complete with gloves and big boots. Like the students at the gates, somehow the guy looked like he'd only just been in combat. In particular Squall noticed a holster at the guy's hip, he was carrying a customized handgun, and plenty of bullets for it on his belt. 

-"I'm Commander Kenan Gantt. " He introduced himself, giving a quick salute. "So you're a SeeD as will then? Just got a call saying you'd arrived." 

"The name's Squall. Squall Leonhart." Squall said with eyes narrowed in withheld anger. 

Selphie smiled. "And my name's-"

"Don't bother." Squall interrupted her. He tried to remain as calm as he could. "I know all of you except Gantt here."

Raising an eyebrow, Selphie's smile quickly faded.

"What I don't know however, is what is going on here." Squall continued. "Something strange happened to me out in the fields and now it's as if nobody knows who I am anymore."

-"Are we supposed to know you then?" Irvine asked curiously.

"The orphanage." Squall explained. "We all grew up in the orphanage except Gantt."

There was a short moment of silence in which they genuinely took this into consideration.

"It's true Zell, Selphie, Quistis and I all grew up in the same orphanage, but I don't remember you." Irvine calmly said.

"Neither do I." Quistis said. 

Leaning asking the table, Gantt studied the map and papers. "Well, Leonhart, never mind that right now. There are more important things to attend to. We'll discuss the past later, now we need to plan ahead. As long as Esthar is still struggling to regroup we're on our own."

"Okay." Squall calmed down just enough to have a normal tone of voice. "Can someone fill me in? We're on our own against what?"

Clearing her throat Quistis turned to him.

"The situation is this; Sorceress Ultimecia, in control of Adel's body, is believed to be gathering Galbadian forces together in the Lunatic Pandora. Currently the Lunatic Pandora is stationed near Deling City. We expect them to head over here soon." Quistis explained, leaving Squall even more frustrated than before. 

Together they had defeated Ultimecia; Squall himself gave her the finishing blow! He knew he had defeated her when he saw Ultimecia handing over her powers to Matron. He witnessed the succession!

Squall looked out the Cafeteria window.

A few students walked by outside. All appeared as worn as the ones he'd seen in the main hall. During the struggle against the Sorceress he had seen that look on people's faces quite often, but it was over now, wasn't it?!

-"What's wrong?" Zell asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"We have defeated her already. I know it, I was there!" Squall suddenly yelled. He couldn't stand this non-sense, and he didn't even care about his headache in that moment. 

Gantt looked amused. "You seem to have a screw loose Leonhart."

Squall stared at him. For some reason this guy reminded him of Seifer. 

"Although this information we've gathered here is about a day old," Quistis reasoned slowly, logically, like a good-will ambassador trying to keep the peace between two nations. "I very much doubt Ultimecia has been defeated in the mean time."

"But I'm telling you, we did it! All of us here, except Gantt."

Irvine frowned. "Suppose its true, how the hell did we defeat her?"

"Yeah!" Both Zell and Selphie yelled at the same time. 

Surprised by the synchronized outburst, Selphie stuck out her tongue out towards Zell.

Quistis and Kenan stood with arms crossed, waiting for Squall's comeback. Sifting through a few papers, Squall found a rough schematic for the Lunatic Pandora.

"Firstly, Selphie flew the Ragnarok straight into the Lunatic Pandora. Right about here, and--" Squall said.

"Whoa. Hold it. Ragnarok? What's that? " Zell asked. Already he couldn't follow the story.

-"We don't have the Ragnarok at our disposable?" Squall asked.

"Uh…no, I don't think so." Selphie answered as she tried to figure out what Squall was on about.

Covering his head with his hands Squall felt further away from finding answers than before.

Rinoa. How he missed her. The smile on her face, the way she could always make Squall feel better, even in the most dangerous and bizarre situations. He needed to see her now more than ever.

Squall sighed and uncovered his face. "Okay, let's start at the beginning."

They agreed. Maybe now this whole deal would make some sense.

Squall thought for a moment. Where did it all start? 

"Yeah," He said aloud. "The mission to Dollet. The SeeD exam. Tell me about that."

Zell raised his hand. "Okay I can do that."

"See, me and Kenan were assigned to the Squad which had this guy Seifer as captain." He said, with an annoyed looked as he mentioned Seifer.

__

Kenan…he took my place? Squall began to ponder.

Zell paused for a moment to make sure he got the facts right.

"Shortly after the landing at Dollet we arrived at our designated post, Seifer ran off to the Dollet tower and--" 

-"Stick to the short version, we don't have much time." Kenan interrupted Zell, tapping his wristwatch. 

"Eventually, with help from Selphie here, we found out the Galbadians were messing with the tower. In short we kicked their ass. Then we returned to the landing vessels, followed along the way by a robot…uhm…friend…"

Kenan sighed. "Blah blah yadda yadda, and eventually me, Selphie and Zell here graduated."

__

So indeed Nida didn't graduate? Squall thought. _But that means…the past…has been altered? Is that what happened? Why Rinoa isn't here? Why the Garden is damaged?_

He had to learn more.

Selphie jumped in. "After that, our first mission together was in Timber, aiding the resistance. While still on that mission certain, uhm, events took place."

"The TV Station was taken over, I know." Squall sighed. "I was there as well."

Selphie glared angrily at Squall. "No you weren't! Liar!"

"He's just flipped." Zell concluded.

Exploring his options, Squall decided to play along with their story. Maybe listening to the events as they happened according to them, he might get some insight in the whole matter.

"Okay, but please continue…" Squall reluctantly said.

Scratching the back of his head, Zell turned to the Commander questioningly.

"Well obviously he needs to be filled in. But be quick about it. And you're gonna have to explain yourself in a minute Leonhart." He said. 

Zell continued. "Well some bad stuff happened. Seifer showed up to hold President Deling hostage, but the Sorceress appeared and took him away. Our team with the addition of Quistis tried to help but..err..I accidentally got the Gardens involved, and as a result we were forced to retreat to Galbadia Garden, since we were cut off from this one. Anyway, receiving orders to assassinate the Sorceress, we headed for Deling City. Irvine was assigned to our team as the sniper. The one who would actually make the kill." 

Irvine coughed to signal his turn. "In short, we failed and everyone but me and Rinoa were imprisoned. Oh, and we found out that dog Seifer joined the Sorceress."

__

Seems to be right so far Squall thought. _Except that I'm not a part of it_.

Carefully thinking back, Quistis remembered something they had forgotten to mention.

"And what about those dreams? The ones caused by Ellone, remember?" She asked.

-"Yeah, but we'll explain that in a moment." Kenan said, nodding towards Quistis.

__

Right. Squall thought. _Ellone…She could have something do with all this…I should see her…_

"So anyway, if I may continue!" Zell pouted.

They all motioned him to go ahead.

"We found out missiles were gonna be launched at Trabia and Balamb Garden. As you may know, Galbadia Garden had become the Sorceress' Garden. Anyway, we escaped the prison and divided into two teams. One headed for the Missile Site, and the other back here to warn everyone. Missiles had already been fired at Trabia Garden, but we still had time to save this Garden."

Panting a bit from the high-speed explanation he just performed, Zell took a deep breath and continued.

"The Missile Site was blown up, but not before the missiles were launched. Luckily, Kenan found out the Garden could fly and we moved out of the way just in the nick of time. We went to assess the damage at Trabia Garden and Irvine told us about the Orphanage that you apparently know of. Kenan didn't really agree, but we decided to go back there, the place we grew up."

-"Why don't you go get a glass of water," Irvine interrupted as he heard Zell's voice got dryer.

Body sagging, Zell reluctantly agreed and he bolted off.

"We dropped off Rinoa in Timber, and headed for the Orphanage." Kenan explained as he took a quick glance at his watch again. "Got in a fight with the other Garden, which was hovering around that area. The damage of this battle is still visible as you may have noticed." 

Finally they were getting somewhere Squall realized. 

-"May I ask why you dropped her off?" Squall said, staring at Kenan.

"Never minding our the contract we had, I decided it was too dangerous to involve her in this Sorceress hunt we were -and still are- on." He calmly replied. "After all, she hadn't received our training." 

-"And Ellone?" Squall asked. "I need to know where she is too."

"DON'T ANSWER!" A yell echoed inside the Cafeteria.

Headmaster Cid stood at the Cafeteria entrance with at least five Garden Faculty.

"Detain him!" He ordered, pointing at Squall.

Without further thought Irvine reached for his gun and aimed it at Squall. 

Zell popped up from behind the lunch counter. "Hey, what's goin' on?!"

"Catch," Cid said as he threw a pair of cuffs towards Kenan. "I have reasons to believe he's a spy."

"NO!" Squall yelled. "I'm Squall Leonhart. I graduated here at this Garden! Why doesn't anyone know who I am?!"

If he had his gunblade with him at that time, he was sure he would force it at Kenan Gantt's throat and demand the whole story. But the fact is he was unarmed, and outnumbered. He had to talk himself out of this one. He knew Headmaster Cid as an intelligent man, and a good leader- it could work. 

"Please listen to me." Squall practically begged. Something he had never done before. 

As a sign of good intention Squall voluntarily put his arms on his back. 

Kenan smirked and cuffed Squall. 

"Alright." Cid said walking closer to Squall. "You get your say."

Irvine slowly lowered his gun. 

Sitting down on the edge of the table, Squall wondered why this had to happen to him of all people. After years he finally has made some friends and now they turn on him, and side with someone he doesn't even know. 

"Well?" Selphie said. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"The Orphanage, that's the earliest recollection I have--" Squall started to tell. 

------------------------------------------

"And that's how we defeated Ultimecia." Squall said, relieved he was almost done telling his part. "And on my way back to the present time, I saw how Matron received her powers from a dying Ultimecia in the past. The succession."

"Well, I must say, that's a fascinating story you just told." The Headmaster said. 

There was a silence in the room.

"Do you believe it, Sir?" Quistis asked with a calm tone of voice, considering the amazing tale she just heard.

Squall stared down at the floor. He had now done most he could. Although he left out certain parts about him and Rinoa, he had told almost the complete history.

"Well," Cid reasoned. "I…don't know. I've seen and heard some strange things in my lifetime, but this…"

Kenan nodded in agreement with Cid. "IF all you say is true Mr. Leonhart, how did you end up here?" 

"I was out in the fields. There was a strange blue light--" Squall explained.

"Geez, r-ight!" Selphie pouted. She seemed to be the least convinced of all. 

"There was a flash. Rinoa who was with me at that time suddenly disappeared." Squall said, reaching for his forehead. "I looked down at the ground…it swallowed me up. I lost consciousness not long after."

Squall looked around the room. "And when I woke up, and proceeded here, this is what I found." He pointed towards a gap in the ceiling. Presumably caused by an explosion of some sort. 

"A damaged Garden. People who don't know who I am anymore…" Squall sighed.

Cid stood with arms crossed. "Commander, what do you think of this?"

-"According to him I never even graduated. Let alone met any of you, fought along side with you…" He grumbled. 

"You might have been a student here. Maybe I just never met you." Squall reminded him. He could imagine why the guy didn't like it, but it was the truth. 

-"Well, I don't believe a word of it." Kenan replied.

Resting his shotgun on his shoulder, Irvine leaned against the table. "Hey, what if the Sorceress can read our minds?"

"She could have come up with everything in that story to fool us!" Selphie exclaimed.

-"Quistis, what do you think?" Kenan asked.

Zell jumped up from behind the lunch counter. "Hey! Why doesn't anyone ask what I think?"

Glancing over at Squall, Quistis thought for a moment.

"Why would a Galbadian spy come up with such a story?" She said in Squall's defense. "It's too amazing to serve its purposes I think."

At least he could still rely on her to be impartial. That Kenan guy seemed to really dislike him from the start. Just what he needed, another Seifer, another rival. 

Cid was visibly conflicted and unsure of what to do. Greet the newcomer, or imprison him.

As if reading his thoughts, Kenan grabbed the cuffed-Squall by his shoulders ready to escort him off.

"Consider this, we know the Sorceress wants to achieve time-compression. He wants us to deliberately make this happen to supposedly defeat her. In my book that makes him another one of her lapdogs." He argued.

-"That's a good point there." Irvine said, agreeing with him.

Squall silently moaned. Of course it was a good point. But it had worked. 

Cid's face lit up slightly. "I see no other solution for now." He spoke with a soft voice. "Take him to the brig."

A Garden Faculty came up to Cid and whispered something in his ear. 

-"No matter, there already are two guards posted." Cid said to the Garden Faculty. "Please, take him away for now."

Kenan started pushing Squall towards the Cafeteria entrance. "Walk." He ordered.

"Headmaster, I'm telling the truth!" Squall said to him. 

-"I…I would like to believe everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, but you've come at the wrong time at the wrong place. We will question you again later." Cid told him.

A Garden Faculty gestured Squall to follow him. Kenan reluctantly let go of Squall's shoulders. 

"Don't try anything." He warned him.

They watched the young man being escorted out of the Cafeteria. The Headmaster followed close behind.

"Weird character he is, huh?" Zell said from behind the lunch counter.

-"HEY, you'd better not be eating all our hotdogs!" Selphie yelled.

Quistis and Irvine sighed and rolled their eyes. 

"Now Quistis, you were saying?" Kenan said, focusing on the gathered intelligence on the table.

She frowned. "Excuse me?"

He pointed towards a piece of paper on the table in front of her. "Your report on the Galbadians."

Putting his gun away, Irvine headed over to the lunch counter. 

Zell nearly choked on a hotdog he was devouring as Irvine managed to jump over the counter and land right next to him. Irvine raised an eyebrow as he saw the mess Zell had made in such a short time. A sticky sauce covered the floor around him. Small pieces of hotdogs lay scattered all over.

He grabbed Zell by his hair.

"Ow, ow, ow, oooooww!!" Zell uttered. 

-"And you call yourself a SeeD?" Irvine asked. "C'mon, we have a meeting to attend."

He dragged Zell over to the table.

"Okay, now we're all here," Irvine laughed. "Please continue Quistis."

Dusting himself off, Zell moaned and got up. 

------------------------------------------

Squall was being escorted down the second floor hall towards the brig. He had never been in there before, and hardly even knew where to find it. Probably in some dark-corner on the second floor he thought. Passing students looked strangely at the handcuffed Squall. Some carefully watched him, others pretended to ignore him all together.

Xu whom hastily walked by didn't recognize him. But neither did anyone else…

Again Squall noticed how different the Garden looked in comparison to the one he was walking through this morning. The structural damage was just one thing. Besides that, Squall noticed how the dark the hallways were. The lights had been muffled. A procedure to conserve energy, Squall had learnt in one of his many classes.

They walked up to a door with two guards posted aside it.

-"Here's another." A Garden Faculty said.

A guard nodded at the Garden Faculty and turned to a panel on the wall. After entering a series of numbers, a light blinked and the door slid open.

Squall slowly stepped inside the room, and as he turned around the door closed up. 

He glared across the room. The brig was about as big as half a classroom. At least he couldn't feel claustrophobic. There were three narrow windows on the opposite wall, through which a bit of sunlight managed to shine, but it wasn't much. On opposite sides of the room bunks had been attached to the wall with chains- the decorator had managed to get that prison kind of feel very well. 

Squall noticed he wasn't alone.

A girl stood close-by one of the bunks. Even in the dark room, Squall could clearly see her long red hair, which grew blonde at the ends. It sort of resembled fire. The Selphie Squall left earlier this morning would love this as a fashion tip…

The girl herself seemed quite young, or actually, perhaps about Rinoa's age.

She was staring out one of the windows when he had entered. As she stepped in a ray of light, Squall noticed she was wearing a shabby student's uniform.

"And who are you?" She asked, in the tone people use when their privacy is invaded. 

Squall was surprised as he saw she was wearing a reflective bulky bangle of some sort around her wrist. Even he, accused of being a spy, hadn't gotten such a thing- so what did she do to deserve that? 

Her eyebrows furrowed for an instance. 

"Oh, don't mind this," She said. "By the way, you're cuffed yourself, you know?" 

He remained silent and walked over to the bunk on the opposite side of hers.

-"Is something wrong?" She asked him, eyeing his every move.

"No." He simply answered, not feeling the need to get into that conversation with the girl. How many times had he wondered about that today? Of course things were wrong. About as wrong as they could be. What could be worse than seeing the woman you care about the most disappear before your very eyes? He had never felt worse in his life. In one morning, his life had been completely thrown upside down.

The girl took a seat on her bunk. She smiled. "You don't look like a dangerous criminal or something to me."

-"Great." Squall replied, not going easy on the indifference. 

The girl's tone had changed. She had become inquisitive, as if she was happy with the company instead of upset. 

"Oh c'mon. Cat got yer tongue?" She said.

-"…That thing on your wrist? What is it?" Squall asked as he slowly lay down on the cold, uncomfortable bunk bed.

She stood up and tried to remove the bangle with her free hand. No luck. 

"I don't know. They put it on, saying I would be too much of a danger otherwise." 

The girl had a friendly face and she looked innocent enough. Squall wondered why they locked her up. Another one thought to be a spy? They seemed paranoid enough for that. 

She walked up closer to Squall so she could get a better look of him. 

"So what's your name?" The girl asked.

-"Squall." He rested his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling.

She smiled. "Hi Squall. And welcome to this deluxe five star prison." 

He found it strange she was so cheery given her current situation. And he didn't like the sound of the word prison. He preferred to think of it as half a classroom that was simply redesigned to look like prison. 

"The food here's good, although the rest is..well..lousy." She joked. 

His face remained stern, those words reminded him of Rinoa. He thought about what that Gantt had said. They dropped her off in Timber? 

Suddenly he realized that he actually considered their story, even though he knew it couldn't be right…could it? Unfortunately, the damaged Garden seemed to suggest they spoke the truth. 

Squall thought back to the moment Rinoa disappeared. That eerie feeling, was it time-compression?

Sighing, he realized he hadn't gotten much closer to finding out what happened. Finding more questions than answers, that's all he had done.

"You frown a lot, don't ya?" The girl said laughingly. 

He turned to her. 

-"H-ey, what?" She asked, suddenly uncomfortable.

"You're not a student here, right?" Squall asked, unable to recognize her. 

-"No. I was found washed ashore two days ago. They brought me here for a medical check-up." She answered, not sounding too cheery anymore.

"Washed ashore?" 

-"Yeah. The doctor believes I was involved in some an accident at sea." The girl replied.

"And they locked you up for that?"

-"No, I don't why they did that. It wasn't until I talked to the Headmaster." She said, looking down.

A sudden feeling of tiresome came over Squall. Even though it must have hardly been after noon, it felt as though an entire day had passed. He couldn't help but yawn.

-"Oh, am I boring you?" She asked with a surprised tone of voice. 

"I'm just tired." Squall answered.

They stopped talking for a while. The girl walked over to the prison door. She carefully knocked on it, the sound of it too faint to be heard on the other side of the door. Judging by the sound, it was quite the sturdy door. Squall wished he had taken a better look at it when he got in. 

-"I don't know how," The girl said with a determined look. "But I'm getting out of here."

Her fire-like hair seemed to glow for just an instance. Or maybe it was just the sunlight shining on it at just the right angle.

"So who are you, where are you from?" Squall asked, and was amazed by his own sudden interest. He had his own problems right now, yet curiosity got the better of him. This girl being here did not make sense.

Frowning, she shook her head.

-"I can't remember. Doctor Kadowaki diagnosed me with amnesia." She said. "Although according to the identity tag I was wearing, my name is Skye."

"Amnesia?"

She looked aside. "When I was first brought here, they asked me all kinds of questions. There was this one guy, I think they called him the Commander…he was pretty mean."

Squall managed a short laugh but it died almost instantly. "Yeah, I've met him." 

"Hey Skye, can I see that bangle?" He asked as he got a hunch what it might be.

-"Yeah, sure." Skye moved to Squall and extended her arm.

Squall examined the shiny white object closely. The metals used in it were foreign to Balamb-- and even Galbadia. 

She frowned. "Well? What is it?"

He nodded as if to himself. "It's definitely from Esthar. Odine brand."

Sitting down next to Squall, the girl looked puzzled.

"It's designed to suppress a Sorceress's powers. So,--" 

-"I'm a Sorceress?!" She yelled in astonishment. 

"Probably."

"No…" She said shaking her head in disbelief and she let herself drop to the floor. "A Sorceress?" 

She balled the fist of the arm with the bangle around it. 

Squall got up from his bunk and stood next to her. 

"There aren't only bad sorceresses, you might be one of the good ones." He said.

She purposely looked away for some time. "If I was a good Sorceress, would I have been locked up?"

Squall watched Skye. She was on her knees, looking utterly devastated. He sympathized, despite it being a relatively new concept for his persona. But he knew how hard it was on a person. Rinoa too had become a Sorceress without wanting it.

-"If you were really a bad sorceress, you wouldn't be locked up, you'd be dead. SeeD's mission is to fight those sorceresses like Ultimecia and Adel." Squall explained, not sure if he was any good at this comforting deal.

Skye smiled a little as she picked herself up and sat down next to Squall.

"I never noticed I had any powers or extra senses when I was found, back when I didn't have this thingy yet." She said gesturing with hints of annoyance at the Odine bangle. 

Squall frowned. "Sorceress Skye…never heard of you. I'm sure I would have if you were considered any threat."

-"So, I'm not considered a threat, because if I were I'd already be killed. But I'm not a good one either, 'cause they wouldn't lock up one of the good ones, right?" Skye asked.

Sighing, he leaned his back against the wall.

"Actually I am one of the good guys. I'm a SeeD." He stated. He would have said 'SeeD Commander' but now, he mused, wasn't the time to develop an ego. 

She looked at him suspiciously. "Really? So why did they throw you in here?"

-"They suspect I'm a Galbadian spy." He answered. "I'm not. But it's a long story."

She smiled warmly. "Please, tell me. It's not like I don't have time to listen to it."

He sighed and wanted to leave their conversation at that, but when he considered he might be imprisoned for quite some time decided share his troubles. The fact that Skye reminded him slightly of Rinoa also played a part in it. 

"It all started with this orphanage, run by--"

------------------------------------------

"Okay, that concludes this meeting." Kenan Gantt said, relieved. He folded up the world map and put all the pieces of paper and notes on one pile. "Let's hope we can get outta here before those Galbadians get to us."

Zell and Irvine nodded at each other. 

-"Training Center here we come!" Zell yelled as they ran out of the Cafeteria.

Selphie pouted as she walked after them. "H-ey! Can't I join in? Three makes a partee-hee complete!"

Kenan looked up and noticed Quistis still stood at the table, absently staring.

"Quistis?" He asked. "Is something bothering you?"

She blinked and realized she'd been completely zoned out.

Turning to Kenan, she shrugged.

"What if Squall was telling the truth? Maybe he really had defeated the Sorceress…maybe something did happen to him. You saw the look on his face." She said. 

The young Commander crossed his arms and considered Squall's story again.

"Well," He said. "I don't know what to think Quistis. I just don't know."

He leaned against the table. "It's just an incredible story to believe. Using time-compression, the one thing the Sorceress wants to achieve to stop her; Rinoa disappearing in front of him; falling through the ground! "

-"I suppose it is, yeah." She agreed.

"But that's not the only reason to distrust him, you know." Kenan said as he brushed a strand of his dark long hair out of his face absent-mindedly. 

-"What do you mean?" Quistis asked.

"The Sorceress here. She arrived her a few days ago, and Cid thinks the Galbadians could be after her." He said.

She looked surprised. 

"You don't know about our other prisoner?" He asked.

Quistis looked even more astonished. "We keep a Sorceress prisoner here? In our Garden?" 

The two lunch-ladies walked in and took place behind the lunch counter to prepare for lunch.

"Ew!" One of them shrieked in surprise as she looked down at the floor that Zell had befouled a few minutes earlier. "What in the name of Odin happened here?!"

Kenan held a finger in front of his mouth, gesturing Quistis to keep quiet. "Not a word to anyone else about this matter. We don't want the students to panic."

-"We can't keep her here, it would be endangering everyone." She said, trying to keep her voice down a bit.

"Don't worry about it," Kenan replied as he picked up the map and several notes. "A Trabia SeeD is on the way over here as we speak to escort her off."

Quistis picked up the pile of papers from the table and stared at Kenan questioningly.

-"So is she being taken to Trabia Garden? I thought it was still damaged?" Quistis asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know about that. But it's none of our concern."

Kenan walked towards the Cafeteria exit. "C'mon, let's get this stuff locked up before another spy comes by."

"Hey," She said as she followed him. "I thought you said you didn't know whether or not he was a spy."

Grinning, he kept walking. "You got me there. I just dislike anyone who claims I don't belong here or something."

He stood at the Cafeteria entrance and noticed the long line of students waiting for lunch. The bigger, older ones were practically pushing the younger students aside. It seemed so chaotic, nothing like a military unit is supposed to look.

"About bloody time you guys got outta there!" A student yelled. "Man…I'm hungry…"

The Intercom rang. "Commander Gantt and SeeDs, please report to the Headmaster's office."

Kenan nodded slightly and made his way through the crowd of students. Quistis followed close behind in the path the Commander left for her.

------------------------------------------

The elevator doors slid open and Kenan stepped out, followed by Quistis who was still holding a big pile of papers.

Kenan turned to her and pointed at a corner of the room. "You can put it down there." 

Relieved, she threw it down. It wasn't really that heavy, but walking with such a high pile is always uncomfortable.

Turning the knob of the door to the Headmaster's office, the door flew open and the bright sunlight hit them directly in their eyes. Covering them a bit, they walked in his office. They noticed Zell, Selphie and Irvine already stood in front of the smaller elevator leading up to the Garden's controls. The small platform descended, and a worried Headmaster Cid stepped off it. Taking of his glasses, he pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned them.

"I have some bad news." He started.

Cid put on his glasses again and examined the faces of the SeeDs standing in front of him. They looked as worried as he did, if not even more so. 

"I just received a communiqué; Galbadia Garden is heading over here." He calmly spoke. "Our refueling is only about two-thirds complete. The workers are severing the lines now so we'll be able to head out, but this will take time. Too much most likely. I suspect the enemy was waiting for this exact time to strike."

Zell smashed his fists together. If it weren't for knuckle pads they'd have heard some bones crack. "I'm ready to fight!"

Headmaster Cid smiled. "I know Zell. I know everyone here is ready."

"Has this been confirmed? And is the Sorceress on the Garden?" Kenan asked. Information was ammunition, he had always been taught. 

-"Yes and no. A SeeD out in the fields saw Galbadia Garden fly over him moments ago. But we believe the Sorceress has remained in the Lunatic Pandora, which is still hovering near Deling City. Seifer is most likely commanding the Galbadian troops." Cid answered.

Irvine nervously ginned. "How long until they're here?"

"We have about fifteen minutes. Maybe less." The Headmaster estimated. 

Commander Gantt saluted Cid. "The defense plan is ready. We know what to do Sir, leave it to us."

The rest of the SeeDs saluted Cid as well, and ran out of his office. Each knew their tasks and responsibilities.

Cid and Kenan stepped on the small elevator and they went up to the Garden controls.

"Should we move the Garden when able to?" He asked.

-"No, but we will hover so a ground assault is made impossible." Cid said, looking at the student behind the control panel as the elevator came to a stop.

She had heard what Cid said down in his office and had become nervous.

"Don't worry, " Kenan assured her. "Everything is gonna be fine."

He ran his hand through his long hair, wondering if he really believed that himself. He loaded his handgun with live ammunition, sure to be ready for the battle. For a brief moment Kenan found himself wondering about Squall Leonhart's story. He said Galbadia Garden was supposed to have been incapacitated already. 

If only that were true…

------------------------------------------

Galbadia Garden hovered over and past Timber at full speed. Any minute now they would see Balamb appear. Seifer stood triumphantly in the main hall in front of a few squads of Galbadian soldiers.

"Give 'em hell." He said as he gripped his gunblade tighter, ready for action.

-"Yes Sir!" A chorus of voices yelled as one.

**__**


	3. AE Chapter 3

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna-_

===========================

**Chapter 3: The Escape…**

"And that's when they threw me in here." Squall finished, shoulders dropping a bit.

He had explained the whole story, this time to Skye. She had listened to him patiently, at some parts she had been confused, but she let Squall talk without interrupting him even once.

She gasped. "Incredible…"

Squall turned to Skye questioningly. She sat next to him on the prison bunk.

-"You mean you actually believe me?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. This story is too weird to just make up." Skye said, smiling. 

__

Exactly what Quistis had said. Squall mused.

They heard students running down the hall from one moment to the next. Squall wondered what the sudden commotion was about but didn't think much of it. Some students always ran. Maybe hotdogs were being served? 

-"So what are you going to do?" Skye asked.

"If I can get out of here somehow, I think I'll try and find Ellone." He answered. "She might know what's going on, or even be the cause of it all in some way." 

-"Hmm…Ellone?" Skye mumbled. "That name sounds familiar, but I can't recall where I heard it before…"

Squall sighed. "She was the one I told you about just now, you know, with the time-compression and all.."

Laughing, she nudged Squall. "I may have amnesia, but I'm not THAT oblivious. I meant before that."

They heard the intercom rang. The sound of it was muffled, as it came from the other side of the brig door.

"…Everyone," Cid spoke through the intercom. "Galbadia Garden is heading this way. They will most likely attack our Garden. As you should know, the plan is to counter-attack this time. Those who are assigned to the counter-force squads; make sure to repel the first wave quickly, then head over to the main entrance of Galbadia Garden and follow Commander Gantt's lead. Those on the defense; make sure all the junior classmen, civilians, injured, and other non-combatant personnel are safe. Good luck!"

Squall jumped off from his bunk as the message ended. 

-"Counter-attack this time?" Skye mumbled. "But according to what you just said--"

"We DID counter-attack!" He yelled in frustration. "Galbadia Garden was taken out! Dammit!"

Squall had never been this worked up before. All his frustration and anxiety seemed to surface at once. He was ready to claw his way out if the brig with his bare hands. 

But before his rage turned to madness Skye laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Squall, calm down." She said. "Things are different, you already knew that."

__

Is this what would have happened if I weren't around? They didn't counter-attack earlier?! He thought.

He banged his fists against the door. "Let me out!" 

Those idiots, didn't they know he could help them in their fight? 

"Squall," Skye said patiently. "They're not just going to let us go. I've pleaded already. They wouldn't listen."

Squall checked around the room. The first wave of anger was subsiding, he was able to use his head again. It didn't take him long to think of something. Whether it would work or not depended on how well their guards knew their prison-escaping clichés. 

"Looking for something?" Skye asked, curious if anything. 

"I've got a plan to get out of here." He told her. "And I'm going to need your help."

She began to look insecure. "But…I'm useless thanks to this bangle. And even without it, I don't know how to use my powers, if I really have them." 

"Don't worry about that." Squall assured her. "Humans aren't helpless. Their resourcefulness is their strength."

------------------------------------------

"Sir?" The student behind the Garden controls wavered, turning to Cid. He glanced in the direction of the approaching Galbadia Garden. By now Balamb Garden was afloat, but they'd never manage to outrun the enemy.

Galbadia Garden was a raging bull, and they were colored red…

-"Just hold her steady. Let them head for us." Headmaster Cid ordered. He grabbed the nearby guardrail and steadied himself. Kamikaze attack? He wouldn't put anything past their enemy. 

Both Headmaster Cid and Kenan watched the enemy Garden closing in on them. They were sure to launch their first wave any second now. But they were prepared, and this time, they would take the battle to the enemy's Garden.

"This is it. You better go down now to command the troops. Godspeed." Cid told Kenan.

He saluted and stepped on the small elevator and headed for his squads in the main hall.

Seifer overlooked the rows of soldiers standing in front of him. He pushed a button next to him and a huge door opened. From the side entrance of Galbadia Garden that had opened, he saw Balamb Garden getting closer and closer, and waited for just the right time to give the signal.

"Ready!" Seifer said. "…GO!" 

On his commands the Galbadian soldiers jumped on their bikes and drove it up the slopes at tremendous speed. Dozens of bikes came flying through the air towards Balamb Garden leaving a trail of smoke. 

History was repeating itself.

Grinning coldly, Seifer reached for his communicator.

"Raijin, are the Para-troopers ready?" He said.

-"Roger, ya know." Raijin answered. He gave his squad of green-uniformed soldiers the lift-off signal. They strapped themselves in the jetpacks and flew them straight at Balamb Garden.

"Fujin," Seifer said through his communicator. "As soon as we're close enough, move the droids in!"

-"AFFIRMATIVE." She told him. 

"Here they come!!" Zell yelled from Balamb Garden's main hall. He pointed at the bikes landing near the Garden entrance. This time the Galbadians had centralized their attack in one place, which was to Balamb Garden's advantage.

Selphie gestured for her squad to move in. "Lets get em!"

Shots of Blizzaga were fired at the Galbadian soldiers. Most of them missed their target completely and the Galbadians who had landed their bikes droves them at full throttle straight through Zell and Selphie's squads at the front gate, forcing them to break their formation.

Para-troopers arrived next, landing right on top of them, guns firing rapidly. A fierce and at first sight chaotic battle ensued. Nobody had held any kind of formation and it seemed a one-on-one fight on a massive scale.

Irvine and Kenan rushed onto the scene with guns drawn. 

In the distance, a Para-trooper had slammed his jetpack straight into Selphie and sent her falling to the ground. Avoiding a few Galbadian soldiers engaged in close combat with Balamb-students, Irvine ran to her aid.

He aimed for the Para-trooper, and fired a couple of shots in quick succession. Hitting the jetpack's engine, Irvine caused it to explode just as it hovered over two Galbadian soldiers.

"A three-in-one shot!" Selphie exclaimed as she got up and hugged Irvine in gratitude. 

-"Lieutenant Biggs! Are you okay, Sir?" One of the three wounded Galbadian soldiers asked.

Biggs looked up and noticed two students and a SeeD had surrounded them.

Kenan smirked and aimed his handgun right in Biggs' face. "Biggs and Wedge, I presume? So what rank are you guys now? I mean- seriously, what's below private?"

Wedge immediately raised his hands. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We give up!"

-"Kenan, they're coming out in full force!!" Zell yelled as he saw Fujin lead several squads of what appeared to be robots onto Balamb Garden. 

"Get outta here you two!" Kenan said to Biggs, and focused his attention on the ensuing battle at the front gate. Nobody could tell for sure which side had the numeric advantage.

Zell grinned as he noticed a hoverboard parked near him. He jumped on it and flew it right through the many artificial reserve troops, knocking down entire rows. What the Galbadians did to them, they could do back.

The remaining Para-Troopers and bikers were being dealt with professionally now. Balamb Squads had regrouped, and the Long-Range Mages were now casting their Aeros against the flying threats, and Bio and Quake against the ground forces. The Galbadians knew they were getting hurt badly and a lot of them withdrew behind the droid lines. These late arrived squads - a combination of all the mechanical troops Zell and the others had seen during their encounters with Galbadian forces- were not programmed with a retreat option however, and fought fiercely. They had GIM27N's -close combat types with limited A.I.- protecting the GIM52A ones; the bots with a Micro Missile launcher pack on their backs.

Zell flew the hoverboard back to friendly lines and at that moment came the Galbadians counter. And to be honest things looked pretty bad when the rear ranks of these GIM52A's opened up fire all at once, but the Squad of well-trained Mages used the airborne missiles at target practice. Fireballs, Ice Javelins and even mid-air water bubbles stopped all but a few from ever reaching the Balamb forces.

Now the ball was in their court again. 

"Come on! Hit em while they're reloading!" Kenan shouted. At his command the Balamb Forces advanced as one. The Swordsmen were first to plunge into the metal-fist-swinging GIM27N's. The dumb machines tightly held their column formation, and soon they were packed altogether. 

Selphie saw the perfect opportunity. "Mages! Thundaga!"

The Swordsmen were ordered back to avoid friendly fire and lightning shot from the dark sky above. With so many thunderbolts shooting one after another it was as if someone was playfully flicking the light switch on and off. However it was a definite lights out for a large portion of the Galbadian unit. As always, thunder element had dealt massive damage to mechanical enemies, and big gaps were made in the enemy's lines. 

Zell turned his hoverboard around and revved it up. He had his hoverboard aimed for the line of Launchers and just before the collision back-flipped off. As he acrobatically landed on his feet he saw his ride smash through a couple of weaker GIM52A's- the skinniest looking bots ever made. 

Now it was completely clear who held the advantage, as the Balamb Forces were pushing the Galbadians back.

-"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie exclaimed after knocking down another droid. "We're winning this time!"

Kenan fired a flare-gun. 

"Okay, we're going in!" He said as the flare went up high in the sky.

-"We will mop things up here, good luck!" Selphie said, nodding.

Upon seeing the flare a great amount of students disengaged from their fights, ran through the scattered Galbadian ranks and followed Irvine and Commander Gantt towards Galbadia Garden. Selphie and Zell's squads were left to deal with the remaining Galbadian soldiers. They hadn't had this much fun in weeks…

'Commander' Fujin had been watching the fighting from a safe distance. Despite being of some rank in the Galbadian Army, she didn't particularly care for it, or for its troops. The way the battle was going worried her for one reason, and one reason alone. It might endanger the one person she did care about it…

------------------------------------------

Seifer flew his jetpack through a Balamb Garden classroom window together with two Para-troopers. As expected, the classroom was empty, and in the confusion of the battle at the Front Gate, nobody had noticed them enter.

"Alright," Seifer said, throwing the jetpack off. "Follow me."

His two Para-troopers escorts discarded their jetpacks and got out their swords "Sir!"

Seifer pressed a few buttons on a wall-panel and managed to unlock the classroom door.

Glaring around the corner, Seifer noticed the hallway was deserted. 

"This way." He told his men.

They ran across the second floor hallway. The sounds of the battle at the front-gate could be heard faintly. It somewhat resembled a really fierce thunderstorm and Seifer wondered how his force was doing. 

-"HEY YOU!" A student yelled, coming up from behind them.

Seifer turned around. It was just another young fool with an attitude. This Garden was full of 'em… 

"You take him, I'll get the Sorceress." He ordered his men.

The student drew his sword and engaged the two Para-troopers. Seifer ran further down the hall and noticed a guard stationed up ahead. He grinned and rushed towards him, charging up a Firaga shot.

The guard gasped in surprise and before he could reach for his blade, Seifer's Firaga shot knocked him back. The guard flew against the far wall and drop down to the floor, either unconscious or dead. It mattered little. 

Seifer walked up to the brig door. It looked sturdy enough to withstand blasts of magic, so with a quick slash Seifer destroyed the door panel next to it. He yanked out the main board, and reached for the wires behind it.

Upon connecting the right two severed wires, a light blinked for a moment and then short-circuited.

The door slid open a few inches and stopped.

"I'm in front of the brig." Seifer spoke into his communicator. "How goes the battle?"

-"BAD." Fujin replied. "LOSING!"

Seifer slammed his fist against the wall. "Dammit!"

He had hoped his forces could eliminate Balamb Garden for good this time, but he knew that wasn't the purpose of this mission. 

"Just retreat!" Seifer ordered through his communicator.

-"Impossible, ya know!" Raijin replied. "They are takin' control of Galbadia Garden, we're losin'! Ya know!"

"Damn. Go to plan B." Seifer told him and switched off the communicator.

Bracing himself, Seifer manually slid open the brig door.

To his surprise the brig was completely empty. He stepped inside. Suddenly out of the corner if his eye, he saw a young man rushing up towards him. Seifer gripped his gunblade tighter and pointed it sideways towards him.

The man stopped. 

Seifer pressed the tip of his gunblade against his throat. "Where is the Sorceress?"

A sudden blow on the back his head knocked Seifer down, and he released his gunblade in the fall. 

-"Right behind you." Skye grinned, holding a metal plate in her hands.

Squall picked up the gunblade but became aware again of his cuffs. He wouldn't be able to fight like that. 

He looked at Skye. "I need your help with this."

-"I'm not very good with weapons." Skye said, taking the gunblade from Squall. "But I'll try."

She raised it high above her head, and swung it down right through Squall's chains. They tore apart and Squall yanked off the two loose ends on his wrists. 

"What about my Odine bangle?" Skye asked.

-"I can't cut it with this blade." Squall told her. "The alloy of the bangle is way too strong."

He took over the gunblade from her and nudged Seifer with the sharp edge of it. He turned over on his back, eyes closed. Looking at Seifer's forehead, Squall noticed the scar he had made during their 'training session' was gone, completely vanished, as if it were never there. As if it never happened…

"Is he dead?" Skye asked, noticing the man didn't move a muscle.

-"Not yet." Squall said. "But I should finish him off now, while I have the chance. It seems everything Commander Gantt and the others said was true. The Galbadians haven't been defeated, which means Seifer is still the Sorceress' Knight."

Squall slowly raised his blade. 

"Don't move!" A green-clad Galbadian soldier yelled as he walked in, sword at the ready. 

"Commander Almasy?! What did you do to him?!"

The trooper poked Squall with the tip of the sword. "Step back, now!"

__

Will they never learn? Skye thought, as she smacked him from aside with her plate.

-"AH! Ow, ow, OW!!!! That really hurt!" He cried out, falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Grabbing him by his collar, Squall pulled him up against the wall. "What are you doing here?" 

The trooper was wounded. Blood flowed down from the wound on the back of his head.

-"...Retrieve…S-sorceress…" He uttered before passing out. Although since this was so corny, the soldier could have just been acting. Galbadians were weird like that, Squall knew from experience. 

Skye looked at Squall. "They were here to get me?"

-"Yeah." He replied, letting go of the trooper. He was done with him. 

Squall wondered why Skye could be so important to the Galbadians that Seifer personally tried to capture her. He got a strange sinking sensation in his stomach. He stood with his back to the girl. When he turned he was relieved to see Skye had dropped the metal plate and hadn't meant to smack him with it as well. She seemed scared more than anything else. Squall shook off his paranoia and headed for the hallway. 

Skye followed him and was relieved she finally got out the dark brig. "Where to now?"

The sounds of the raging battles still echoed.

"Let's get out of here first," Squall said. "We'll figure something out later."

The best choice would be the emergency exit Squall figured. Now being an escaped prisoner, they had to avoid both Balamb Garden's forces and the Galbadians. Again Squall didn't know what he was involved in, but he wasn't about to be caught by either side again.

-"Wait," Skye said, pointing to Seifer. "What about that guy?"

She couldn't stand the thought of killing a human being, but if that was the same Seifer she heard Squall talk about, he could be dangerous. Squall was about to reply as he heard a moan from behind him.

Not far from them, a Balamb student slowly got up from the floor, and picked up his sword lying nearby. A Para-trooper lay badly injured beside it.

"The Sorceress is escaping! Defense Squad to the second floor!!" The student yelled at the top of his lungs. 

-"No time now, let's go!" Squall shouted. He grabbed Skye's arm and together they rushed off.

"Where are we going?" Skye asked, yanking her arm loose from Squall's grip.

They proceeded down the hallway, running past the injured student. Suddenly Squall stopped in front of the classroom where Seifer had entered. He noticed three jetpacks lying in the corner, just under the broken windows. 

He moved towards one of the packs. "Like I said, we're getting out of here."

Skye followed him with a worried look on her face. "I don't know how to work those things…" She sighed.

"Don't worry." Squall assured her. He sheathed his gunblade and strapped himself in the jetpack. "Just hold on to me. I've done this before."

She firmly gripped Squall. Slowly, the jetpack's engine began to rumble and they ascended.

-"Here we go."

Squall carefully navigated them through the window, avoiding the sharp glass edges.

He looked back into classroom and saw an angry Seifer leaning unsteadily against the doorway.

"WAIT!" Seifer ordered them. "You won't get away!"

Skye stuck out her tongue at him as Squall began descending. 

"Damn!" Seifer cursed and rushed to the window. 

Whoever that guy was, Seifer swore to himself he would get even with him. He reached for the back of his head, a surge of pain came over him.

"Ah hell!" He yelled out. "That witch!"

A student stumbled in the classroom, sword held high. "You…are…not…getting away!"

-"I may not have my gunblade," Seifer said as he stretched out his arms.

"But that doesn't mean I'm unarmed." He smirked, and hit the student with a quick bolt of Thundaga.

He sighed and picked up his jetpack before the student could recover from his attack, and quickly escaped through the window, cutting his shoulder against a glass shard.

As he flew further away from Balamb Garden, he reached for his communicator.

"Mission failed. The Sorceress has escaped." He said. "Raijin, Fujin, I'll be in the fields near Balamb."

-"Uh," Raijin replied. "What 'bout the others, ya know?"

Seifer grabbed a small device from his pocket and grinned evilly. "Just remember plan B!" 

Quistis and her team of students had heard the fighting on the second floor and rushed to check it out. 

She helped the student Seifer had shot get up.

"What happened?" She asked.

The student coughed heavily. "You're…too late. The prisoners…escaped. Seifer went out after them."

Rushing to the window, Quistis could see a jetpack flying away. The Sorceress was all they were after?

------------------------------------------

Fujin, Raijin and what was left of the G-soldiers reached Galbadia Garden's emergency exits. All the droids were ordered to stay behind to stall Balamb's forces. As far as they knew, they performed their jobs well enough.

They rushed outside, most without looking back. 

"CLOSE." Fujin ordered one of the lasts that escaped the Garden. 

-"Yes ma'am." The soldier said. He pressed a few buttons and the exit doors closed up tight.

Raijin plopped down on the ground. "Phew…"

Glaring at him angrily, Fujin walked over to and picked him up by his ear.

-"MOVE." She ordered her lazy, good-for-nothing sub commander.

------------------------------------------

Kenan and Irvine's squads rushed down Galbadia Garden's hallways. They were surprise at how little resistance they encountered but considered Galbadia Garden had also lost many soldiers in the previous encounter.

-"In here!" Irvine yelled as he stopped in front of the control room doors. The doors were kicked open and Balamb forces poured in-- ridiculously many of them. 

-"Huh? Where are they?" Irvine asked, noticing the room was deserted. 

Kenan glanced around and chuckled. "They must have abandoned this Garden. It's ours now!"

"Right," He continued, rubbing his hands together in childish delight. "Split up in two groups. One will remain here, the other will search for any remaining Galbadians."

-"Yes Sir!" A senior student yelled. He did as Kenan ordered and divided the forces. 

The smallest group stayed to defend the control room, in case the Galbadians would try to get it back, whilst the other searched through the Garden for hostiles. 

Irvine walked up to Galbadia Garden's controls and randomly pushed a few buttons. 

"I wish Zell was here. He's more into the mechanical stuff…"

Kenan moved to the rudder. The screens displayed a total lock down of helm-control. 

"We'll definitely have to get some mechanics up here to get this baby going again." He sighed.

-"It doesn't look like anything is working." Irvine said as he glared at the control panels in front of him.

"Even communications?" Kenan asked.

-"Yeah." Irvine confirmed as he saw the smashed up com panel.

"You," Kenan said, pointing at one of the remaining students. "Inform the Headmaster of our status."

The student saluted and ran off. Regrettably a message boy was necessary, as in all the commotion Kenan had forgotten his communicator. 

An eerie feeling came over Irvine. "Something's wrong…" He said.

-"What?" Kenan asked, looking at him questioningly.

Shrugging, Irvine paced around the control room. "Do you hear that?"

Wondering what he was on about, Kenan tried to listen for anything out of the ordinary. 

Apart from a conversation between students guarding the control room entrance, he didn't hear a thing.

"There," Irvine said as he ducked down and opened a recently disturbed floor panel. "Oh shit!"

Kenan rushed over and looked down at the opening. "Damn!"

A small black box had been placed just under the center floor panel. A few wires stuck out the box, connected to a digital timer of some sort. It was counting down, ticking faintly as a seconds went by. The screen displayed there were about three minutes left…

"A bomb!" Irvine yelled. 

The students guarding the control room turned to Irvine. "S-sir?"

-"Tell everyone to get out, now!" Kenan ordered them.

Irvine sighed. "They won't all make it out in three minutes, and 10 seconds…9…8…7-"

-"I know!" Kenan yelled. "That's why we have to do something."

Kenan bent over and reached for a small knife he kept in his boot.

Nodding, Irvine grabbed the knife from him. He used it to quickly remove a few screws from the top of the small box.

Kenan noticed Irvine's hands were trembling. Cautiously he removed the top cover from the box. A red package covered most of the inside. It had three wires sticking out of it; yellow, green and blue. All appeared to be connected to the timer.

"What now?" Irvine asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

-"One of the wires should be the right one. Cut it and it'll stop counting down…" 

"And the other two?" 

-"Boom…" Kenan replied, mimicking a big explosion with his hands. A cold sweat drop rolled down the side of his face.

"So which one do we cut?!" Irvine asked panicky. He glanced at the timer. Only two minutes and change left.

Kenan dropped to the floor and examined the bomb. "I don't know. Maybe all three are wrong? We're dealing with Seifer here, he may be a jackass but he's not a dumb jackass."

"And this might not even be the only bomb here," He continued. "This doesn't look good…"

Irvine sighed. "Great. We're doomed."

-"Maybe not. I have an idea," Kenan said as he stood up. "Keep you fingers crossed."

A bright glow emanated around his hand as he held it up high. "Blizzaga!"

Irvine jumped back and an icicle appeared around the bomb and timer, covering it up whole.

-"Great thinking." He said, getting up to his feet.

"Yeah, but did it work?" Kenan replied as he peered through the icicle.

Water drops were forming all around the icicle. Irvine stepped back. "Well?"

-"The timer has stopped!" Kenan joyously said. 

"Great, I'd do a victory dance right now, but the ice is melting!!" Irvine yelled, motioning Kenan to get the hell outta there.

-"Right," He replied as he joined up with Irvine. "But we might have just bought enough time."

The two SeeDs bolted off towards the exit. 

------------------------------------------

"Thanks for the smooth landing." Skye said, stepping out of the bushes. "Would have never thought of using the ground as a cushion."

Squall ignored the obvious sarcasm. So it was a bit rough…taking off is a conscious choice, landing is inevitable. 

Leaving the jetpack covered up in the bush, Squall sighed and looked up at the sky. "I don't think we were followed."

-"Well yeah, that's probably because of your flying." She offered. "Aren't pilots generally supposed to throttle down upon landing?"

"We escaped didn't we?" He replied. 

He gripped his gunblade and looked around again. In the distance he could make out Zell standing at Balamb Garden's front gate. A lot of Balamb students stood around him, Squall concluded they won the battle. The counter-attack must have succeeded. 

Skye frowned. "What now? They'll be lookin' for us soon."

-"Follow me." Squall said and he walked off in the opposite direction of the Garden. 

"Where we going?" She asked as she ran up to Squall. "Hey, wait up! Not so fast."

He suddenly stopped, and Skye bumped into him.

-"Not that slow either." She said, rubbing her forehead. Up until now she hadn't noticed how tall Squall was compared to her. He cast a shadow over her.

-"Get down." He told her as he ducked behind a bush, trying to minimize the sound of the leaves brushing against each other. 

Skye narrowed her eyes and saw three figures standing up ahead. She recognized Seifer, but the other two she'd never seen before. They were looking around, probably in search of her and Squall.

"Seifer and his lackeys…" Squall whispered. "Don't let them see you. I'm not sure I can take on all three."

-"So where are they?" Raijin asked.

Seifer glared around with an annoyed look. "They can't be far away. Fujin, see anything?"

"NEGATIVE." She replied.

-"Damn guy took my gunblade…he'll pay." Seifer said, balling his fist. 

"We have to get goin', Kenan and the SeeDs will be lookin' for us, ya know?" Raijin said, nervously staring back at the two Gardens hovering close to each other. 

Fujin slowly walked towards Raijin and kicked him in the shine. "COWARD."

-"OUCH! Ah!!---ya know?"

Seifer pulled out a timer. "Hmm…that's odd. The bomb is supposed to have gone off already."

They looked up at the hovering Galbadia Garden. Balamb students were practically pouring out of it at the front gate. They managed to get on Balamb Garden quite easily as it still hovered directly next to it.

Sighing, Seifer threw his remote on the ground and crushed it with his boot. "Useless junk!"

Just then, a great explosion emanated from within Galbadia Garden. They covered their eyes. 

Seifer's jacket flew back in the wind of the blast-wave, but surely the sudden gust died down.

The Garden was on fire, smoke filling the air around it. There were a series of smaller explosions and then the Garden came crashing down into the ground, momentarily creating a huge fireball that dissipated as it gained altitude. 

To Seifer's surprise Balamb Garden didn't seem to have suffered any further damage from the blasts as it was clearly steered away from the scuttled Galbadia Garden.

"SEIFER?" Fujin called. 

He stared at the pile of debris that used to be his Garden. The Garden Sorceress Ultimecia placed him in command of.

-"Yeah…" He said. "Let's get out of here. The guy might have escaped to Balamb, we'll search there."

Squall made sure they were a good distance away before he stood up from the bushes.

He stared silently at a burning pile of debris on the edge of an enormous crater.

"Oh no!" Skye cried out from behind. "That murderer!"

-"There couldn't have been many people in there." Squall said, pointing at Balamb Garden. "See, I think our students made it out in time."

She put on a smile. "I hope so."

"I know this cave nearby, we'll be safe there for a while." Squall said. 

-"Lead the way." Skye sighed. 

He started walking in the direction she'd seen Seifer and his two dangerous looking friends march off in. Skye didn't take one step. 

Squall hadn't noticed right away, but when he did came back for her, now running. "Come on, we have to go."

"But…that's where Seifer went." She stammered. 

-"It's also where the cave is." Squall told her. "Trust me, you'll be safe."

With a deep breath Skye collected herself. "Okay..let's go then."

------------------------------------------

"Oh my!" Doctor Kadowaki called out, rushing towards Irvine, Kenan and their squads at the Front Gate "Is everyone okay?"

-"We're fine Doctor." Kenan assured her. "Just a little shaken up, that's all."

He and the Doc watched Irvine frantically jumped up and down on his coat, which had caught fire and, despite the cowboy's best efforts, was completely ruined.

Zell arrived on his hoverboard, with Selphie behind him.

"Whoa!" He uttered. "Man, that was some blast."

Selphie stepped towards the edge of the Garden entrance and stared down at the huge crater. The guys were lucky they made it out alive. 

Zell got off his board. "Are you guys okay?"

Irvine had got on his knees beside the ashes that used to be his coat and appeared to be sobbing.

"Uhm…yeah, all in a day's work." Kenan answered. "How are things here?"

He looked around and saw several wounded Galbadian soldiers lying around. They were being cuffed and taken inside one by one. 

Selphie beamed. "We won. Totally booyakaded them."

-"Booyakaded?" Zell asked questioningly. "That's not even a word."

Kenan glanced around. "Hey, where's Quist?"

-"Oh, I think I saw her talking with the Headmaster in the main hall." Doctor Kadowaki answered as she was taking care of a student's wounds.

Zell sighed. "Suppose you have to report to the Headmaster and all, huh?"

-"Yeah." Kenan replied. "But it isn't our fault Galbadia Garden blew up."

"So what happened?" Selphie asked.

-"They planted a bomb." Kenan replied. "But we'll tell you about it later. C'mon Irvine, let's talk to Cid."

"But--my coat!" The other uttered.

-"Yeah yeah, we'll get you a new one." 

"Ah, commander. A student just informed me what happened. Are you alright?" The headmaster said as Kenan and Irvine approached. He looked full of concern.

Quistis stood next to him, arms crossed and frowning.

-"We're fine Sir." Kenan answered. Irvine immediately looked unhappy.

Kenan turned to Quistis. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "The Sorceress escaped during the battle. They attacked us because of her. Seifer entered our Garden to capture her, but she got away together with Squall."

"What Sorceress?" Irvine asked. He temporarily forgot to whimper.

Kenan frowned. "You don't know about her either?"

"No he doesn't." Cid answered. "The less that knew, the better."

-"Anyway, what are we going to do?" Kenan said. 

Zell and Selphie caught up with them. 

"Wazzup." Zell said as he greeted the rest. 

Shaking his head, Irvine gave him the correct impression something was wrong. "Trouble…"

Selphie sighed. "What is it this time?"

The Headmaster cleared his throat. "A Sorceress we kept prisoner here escaped, together with Mr. Leonhart."

-"Whoa, wha?" Zell uttered, barely coherent. 

Reaching inside his vest, Cid came up with a small photograph and handed it to Zell.

"This photo was taken when she was brought here by a local fisherman. Her name is Skye; Sorceress Skye." Cid explained. "She is quite powerful and thus dangerous. We cannot let her be captured by the Galbadian hands." 

Selphie stared at the girl's photo over Zell's shoulder. "She doesn't look dangerous."

-"We think she's been in an accident and is suffering from amnesia." Kenan told them. "Maybe she doesn't even know of her powers."

"So why haven't we been told sooner?" Quistis asked curiously.

The Headmaster's face grew worried. "There was no need until now."

-"Huh?" Irvine said, not quite sure he understood what Cid meant by that.

"I'll inform you when you're in my office. But right now there are several other matters to attend to."

An annoyed look came over Zell's face. "What? More work?! We just fought a battle!"

-"Zell!" More than a few people called annoyed. 

"Hey, wait a minute." Kenan said, his face lighting up. "If Squall escaped from Seifer, that means…"

-"He isn't with the Galbadians, yes. And so he might have been telling the truth all along." Quistis said.

Irvine and Selphie looked at Cid questioningly. 

-"You should all take a break." He ordered them. "You've more than earned it. I'll take care of everything for now."

"Say, you think they're still serving lunch?" Zell asked with a hopeful look.

-"I should think so. Why don't check, and report back to us?"

It was exactly the kind of mission Zell loved and he made for the Cafeteria with impressive speed. 

The headmaster followed him with his eyes for a moment and then turned to Kenan. "We'll set course for Fisherman's Horizon soon. We need some repair work to be done, we'll do that there."

Irvine stood vaguely staring in front of him. Selphie sighed and pushed him in his back.

"Yeow!" He cried out. 

She was bewildered. "What's wrong?" 

"My back kinda-- ah, never mind." He turned to the Headmaster. "Can I be excused to go to Infirmary?"

-"Of course." Cid said. "Selphie, why don't you got with him, I heard they're short a few hands, maybe you could help out. It'd be greatly appreciated.

"Alrighty!" She said cheerfully.

-"Were they many casualties?" Kenan asked, watching Irvine and Selphie enter the Infirmary. 

Cid looked grave. "We don't have the numbers yet, but indeed there are quite a number of wounded." 

"Perhaps I should assist the Doctor as well, Headmaster." Quistis offered. Soon only the Headmaster and the Commander remained, the rest of the team being momentarily disbanded. 

They started slowly walking towards elevator

-"But Sir," Kenan said, thinking out loud. "Getting back on subject- if the Sorceress is truly is dangerous, shouldn't we go after her right away?"

"I have already sent a team of students that were closest to her." He explained. "You see I put a tracking device in her bangle, she's not far."

Kenan sighed in relief. "That's good to know."

Suddenly he realized something. "Sir, how's my sister doing?"

"Don't worry Kenan." Headmaster Cid assured. "During the battle Quistis had posted some men of her defense squad outside Tia's quarters. They reported no contact with the enemy."

Kenan rubbed his temples. Somehow he wasn't as relieved to hear that as he should have been. If his sister was no longer of any use to the Galbadians…what did that say about Sorceress Skye?

------------------------------------------

Squall led Skye to a cave near the ocean, just past Balamb. As he expected, nobody was anywhere near it-- and why would anyone be? It didn't look like much from a distance. And even up close, the camouflage netting could easily fool a person's eyes. 

He pulled down the net that had covered up the entrance. 

-"This the one?" Skye asked, staring inside the dark cavern as far as she could.

"Yeah." Squall replied. He turned to make sure they weren't seen, and headed inside.

Skye reluctantly followed, not sure if the cave was really deserted. What if a monster suddenly showed up? She had seen several out in the fields just now. In this darkness they lost the advantage of seeing them coming from the distance. 

She shivered as they proceeded further in. A cold gust was coming from somewhere further down.

-"I can hardly see a thing!" She complained.

"Almost there." Squall assured her. 

Did he have night-vision or something?

She heard a clicking sound, and a light just above her went on. Narrowing her eyes at first, she slowly got used to the intensity of the light. Squall had apparently pushed a button on the wall just up ahead.

"What is this place?" She asked, trying to make out the ill-lit shapes up ahead.

-"Hang on." Squall told her. He messed with another panel along the wall and a few more lights flickered on up ahead.

She looked ahead and was astonished by what she saw. 

Squall turned to her. "And that's our way out of here." 


	4. AE Chapter 4

****

Angelus Errare

Written by -Laguna- 

============================

****

Chapter 4: The Pursuit…

"Wow." Skye gasped in astonishment. "Impressive..uh…stuff here."

She examined what appeared to be a row of boats, in dry dock inside the cavern. They didn't look like normal boats; machine guns were mounted atop on most of them, plus they had the smooth form of a submarine.

Each of the boats was held up a few feet above the ground with some sort of wire-frame like contraption. 

Squinting, she counted five that were docked, one after another, the cave being too narrow for having two or more along side each other. A whole bunch of tools and equipment was lying around the boats, and crates no doubt filled with supplies were stacked along the cavern wall. 

-"These are Balamb Garden's armored transports." Squall told her. "When they're not docked in Balamb harbor, they're here. Not many people know about that."

Slowly, Skye approached the nearest boat. She noticed the curved lines of the boat and very slick aerodynamic shape. It was clearly designed for high-speeds. 

"Can you pilot it?" She asked, amazed by the good state the vessel she stood by was in. It looked brand new, she could even see her own reflection in it. 

Squall nodded and investigated the stack of crates. He opened one of them, and picked up some sort of can from it.

'Rations' was printed on it with big white letters. Squall looked dirty at it for a second, then shrugged and placed it on the ground, so both hands were free to continue pilfering. 

-"It should be practically automatic." He said, reaching for more cans of rations. "I just need to pack a few supplies now, and we're off. Balamb is probably still busy dealing with the aftermath."

"Is there anything I can do?"

-"Yeah, you could start the engine of that vessel you're standing by. It takes a few minutes to fully warm-up."

Skye imitated a SeeD salute as she'd seen before, and moved along the vessel's hull.

"Uhm.." She mumbled, tossing Squall an awkward glance. "Where is the door?" 

Squall sighed, picked up the few cans he had gathered and walked towards Skye.

"There," He pointed with his nose now that his hands were full. "Hit that button."

Grinning sheepishly, she turned to the little red button she had overlooked and bashed it in with her fist.

She heard a click, and a door in the vessel slid open to the ground, at the same time providing a stair to climb in with its backside.

"Wow." She laughed as she stepped up. "Modern technology…"

She stood in the vessel's opening, and turned to Squall. Laughing at the fact she was now taller than he was.

Not amused, he carefully handed her the cans. "Put these in the back somewhere."

"Hey, what kinda food is this? This is heavy!" She said, her short form almost buckling under the weight of half a dozen cans of army supplies. 

-"Rations. It doesn't taste good, but it'll keep you going." He explained.

Skye went inside the transport and quickly dropped the cans on one of the two benches she found there. It would perhaps have been more accurate to call them two rows of seats, since these definitely weren't park benches. Each seat had two seatbelts, hanging left and right. When someone fastened them they would cross and really strap someone in. At least, that's what she ascertained just from looking at it. 

Skye inspected the rest of the vessel. Though it wasn't too roomy, there were four seats on opposite sides, and in between these stood a small table. A high-tech map covered most of it, some touch-panels and buttons the rest.

-"Go to the control panel." Squall told her, as he was busy sifting through more boxes. "Press 'start', it should work."

"Okay," She replied and moved up to the front. "I'm there."

The cockpit of the vessel was suddenly very narrow compared to the rest. She guessed only one 'pilot' was needed. Or..did they call it driver? Perhaps seaman? She had no idea. 

"Let's see now," She said moving her hand across the panel in search for the ignition. Many buttons, levers and view-screens made up the entire panel. Maybe she'd be better of reading the manual first…

"Uhm…Squall?" Skye called.

She heard a thud behind her and saw Squall walking up after dropping off a belt of ammunition, together with his gunblade. 

"Move over," He said, slightly annoyed. "I'll take care of everything, just take a seat."

Skye looked down. "I'm sorry, I'm not any help…"

Squall sighed, and immediately found the right button to start up the system. As he pressed it, all kinds of lights suddenly blinked on in the small cockpit. Several status screens flashed green. The transport was kept in good shape.

Skye was about to take a seat in the back when she peered through the one of the small windows. 

"Squall, shouldn't we push this vessel to sea first?" She asked, realizing a boat is no good on dry land. Oh yes, she was the rare smart blond type. "There's no water in this cave."

-"It'll be okay." He assured her from the cockpit. "Believe it or not, the dry-dock this vessel is on has wheels. It'll drive us in the water."

"Oh…okay." She said as she sat down and buckled up. It could get pretty rough for all she knew.

The vessel began slightly trembling and the cans of rations started rolling, some dropping on the floor. Skye heard the faint sound of a starting motor, somewhere just below the floor under her feet.

Not far from the seaside cave, a group of five Balamb students stood carefully scanning around. In the distance they saw a group of retreating Galbadian soldiers, but they weren't important right now.

-"So where is she?" A student asked her squad leader. 

The unit leader, Bell Liosa -who had finally been giving an assignment other than guard duty- turned to Nida. "Well?"

Nida held up the tracking device. "Close by. Can't tell exactly, something is causing interference."

His eyes widened. "The transports! She's trying to get away!" 

The students sprung into action and ran towards the cave, their leader following close behind.

Pressing their bodies against the rock wall, they carefully proceeded until they were next to the entrance.

-"Sir?" A female student called, noticing the net that normally covered up the Garden's secret cave had been thrown on the ground. Gesturing his squad to wait, Liosa peered around the corner, into to dark cavern.

The sound of a starting engine echoed. 

He clutched his sword. "Let's head in!"

Squall took a seat in the 'pilot' chair and fastened his seatbelt. He glanced across the control panel. All he needed to do was punch in a few coordinates, but that was easier said than done. 

"Squall!" Skye yelled from behind him. "They found us!"

He looked up through the front viewports and saw several figures carefully moving towards them. It was too dark to tell from which Garden they were, but Squall could clearly see they were armed; their swords reflected the sun light at the end of the cavern.

Squall quickly closed the vessel's door. Glancing over on the engine's status screen, it still displayed a time of two minutes before it was warmed-up.

"We don't have that much time!" He yelled at the device and switched it to manual. A warning screen appeared. Squall ignored it and throttled up. The engine roared and the vessel began to drive down the cave with tremendous speed, the small wheels of its dry-dock heavily screeching along the way.

-"Get out of the way!" Liosa warned his squad, quickly jumping aside. 

The students threw down their swords and pressed themselves against the cavern wall. With a gust, the transport craft drove by them and left at trail of thick dust along its way. As this settled, Bell Liosa quickly ran towards the sea. But all he could see was the dry dock, more than half-emerged, and a quickly dissipating trail in the water left by the vessel's small but fast engine cluster.

Nida slowly opened his eyes, amazed he had remained unharmed. If he were just a few seconds slower, the vessel would have surely ran him over. He knew being a student at Balamb Garden meant taking risks, but to be run over by a boat seemed way too inhumane. 

"Dammit!" Nida's squad leader cursed as he walked back to his team. "We failed."

-"We can still go after her in one of the other boats Sir."

He nodded at two team members and they went for the nearest transport. "Let's hope we can catch up."

-"Well, at least we will know where they're headed." Nida said, handing the tracking device to his leader.

The blink on its tiny radar appeared to be going to the southeast.

------------------------------------------

Seifer stood at the edge of Balamb harbor. He watched the waves of water moving up and down peacefully, unhindered by all the fighting that went on in the world. One day, when all this was over, he would have to go fish here once. 

"Uh, Seifer?" Raijin called as Fujin nudged him. "I..uh…I don't think they're here, ya know?"

Apart from them and a lowly old fisherman, the dock area of Balamb was deserted. There was only one boat docked and it looked like it needed a good work over. Raijin was surprised it managed to stay afloat in the first place.

-"Damn." Seifer replied. He was following a small spot on the horizon with his eyes.

Fujin and Raijin squinted. A plane? No…wait…a boat?

"That's them." He said with an annoyed look. "The Sorceress and that guy."

-"How can ya tell?" Raijin asked shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. The boat disappeared over the distant blue-lined horizon. 

He smirked. "Just trust me on this."

"So, what we gonna do now?" Raijin asked.

-"What else?" Seifer asked in reply.

Raijin looked puzzled as Seifer turned around and made for Balamb plains- which were sure to be crawling with Balamb forces by now, looking to deal with the pockets of fleeing Galbadians. 

Fujin kicked his shine. "FOLLOW."

Raijin hopped on his one good leg. "Ow, hey Fu that really hurts, ya know?"

In a rare occasion, she smiled. "AFFIRMATIVE."

Seifer led the way out Balamb town and towards a cavern near the sea. He stopped by the entrance to it and listened to sounds coming from deeper inside the cave. 

"SEEDS?" Fujin asked. 

-"Not sure. Raijin, you go."

"Me?" He began shaking uncontrollably. "Don'tcha remember what happened last time I fought the SeeDs?"

Seifer shrugged. "So they beat ya, join the club. I'm not asking you to defeat them, I just need one thing."

"She's not yet warmed up Sir." The student behind the transport controls reported. 

Liosa had been going through opened supply crates to determine what the Sorceress had stolen. "Just wait a little longer. We don't wanna get an engine failure at open sea."

He found an open ammo box. At least one belt of revolver rounds was missing. He was pondering the meaning of this when someone tapped him on his shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." He straightened and found himself standing face to face with sub commander Raijin. Before he could reach for his sword, he received a sharp blow in the stomach, and doubled up.

"Sorry, ya know." Raijin apologized, which he did to each of the five team members he knocked out. The ones he knocked out AND threw out of the transport even got two apologies.

The muscleman climbed behind the transport's controls. The short, narrow space pushed his knees up and in, and barely gave him room to pull his elbows in. He played with the seat's adjustment buttons for a moment and got it to assume a semi-reclining position. Satisfied, he drove her out of the dry-dock cavern. 

Raijin pulled up the transport next to Seifer and Fujin, one hand on the steer, one stuck out a small view port tapping the outer hull- as if to say 'check out my ride'. Fujin merely glared at him. He got the message and closed the window. 

Geez, not even allowed to have some fun.

------------------------------------------

"So, FH it is?" Skye asked, stepping up to the cockpit doorway. She noticed the screen displaying the world map. A course was plotted out; it led south to the town that she knew from Squall's story to be Fisherman's Horizon. 

Squall sat observing a few screens. The autopilot appeared to have been engaged, as Squall wasn't steering.

-"I guess so." Squall replied. 

He unfastened his seatbelt and moved to take a seat on the bench in the main compartment. Maybe he was a little claustrophobic, but he'd prefer sitting out the ride there.

As he was about to sit down, the transport vessel hit a high wave. The boat edged towards the right and Squall fell down in the seat. Skye laughed at this but stopped as she noticed he had a worried look on his face.

-"Maybe I should go to Timber, and find Rinoa." He said, shaking his head. The same sensation he felt earlier engulfed him again. He had no idea what to do, no idea what was going on. How could he possibly know he had down the right thing by escaping from Balamb Garden?

What the hell was going on? 

"But what if Rinoa doesn't know who you are either?" Skye offered. 

He sighed. "Yeah, that could be." But still Squall felt concerned over Rinoa. 

"So, what about you? Where are you going?" Squall asked, wondering about the mysterious Sorceress Skye.

Skye eyed her Odine bangle. "I still need to get this off." 

Squall inspected it again, this time with better lighting than before. "Hm, I still don't think I can get it off with a gunblade. I suppose I could try shooting it, but if the bullet ricochets--"

Skye grinned nervously. "No shooting me please."

She pulled at the bangle, and, seeing it still wouldn't budge, sighed hopelessly. "The Headmaster put it on, maybe he's the only one that can get it off again."

-"No, I'm sure Doctor Odine can as well." He assured her. "After all, he designed it." 

"Isn't he in Esthar?" Skye asked. "And isn't that where you're going?"

-"Yeah, but I'm going there to see Ellone." He told her. "Although I can't even be sure if she will be there."

"We'll just have to see when we get there." She said cheery.

One of Squall's eyebrows shot up. "We?"

Skye's smile broadened. "We escaped together didn't we? And we both have business in Esthar."

He looked uneasy and tried being as nice as possible with what he had to say. "Skye, look, I don't think you should come with me. You have no idea what I'm involved in. I don't even know."

Her smile quickly disappeared. 

"At least you know who you are." She countered. She hadn't meant for it to sound bitter, but it did. 

-"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I've got my own problems."

"We both have our problems." She emphasized. 

-"I understand what you're getting at, but I want do this alone."

She looked hurt. "So that's what you're like."

"Yes, I thought I'd changed, but I guess I haven't. Other people only complicate things, especially now."

-"Maybe so, but I have nowhere else to go." Skye told him. "I don't know anyone and you're one of the few people that's actually been nice to me." 

"Who are the others?" Squall asked, thinking callously of dumping her somewhere. Truly this situation had reverted him to his old form and habits. 

-"Doctor Kadowaki, and one of the prison guards. He managed to steal me some good food from the Cafeteria."

Squall began to look worried. 

Somehow she could tell what he was thinking. "No, he wasn't guarding us when we were attacked. That must have been another shift."

"You're quite insightful." Squall remarked. Aside from Quistis and Rinoa, there weren't many people that could ever tell what he was thinking of. The girls had even jokingly called their ability 'The Gift'. 

"Thanks." 

Which then reminded him. "How did you know about the squad of soldiers entering the cave anyway? You were back in the passenger section, you couldn't have seen them."

She was surprised by the question, but when she thought about it, she couldn't really tell what it was that alerted her.

"That's what I thought." He said when he saw her struggle to put it into words. "It's natural to you."

-"What do you mean?"

"Your heightened awareness." He said. "The trait of a Sorceress."

She gave her bangle another dirty look. "So this isn't just wrist decoration, huh?" 

"Seems so."

So Skye really was a Sorceress and this was an especially dangerous time to be of that class. Callous Squall would have liked to abandon her then and there since that was the most convenient solution to reduce the amount of worries he had. But he couldn't…because of Rinoa. Skye was a Sorceress, just like her. And from what he could tell, one on the side of good guys as well. In his mind, Callous Squall and the new Caring Squall wrestled each other on this issue before reaching a consensus. 

Squall picked up two cans of rations from the floor. He pulled their lids open and handed one to Skye. 

She laughed. "Making amends with food? Does this mean you changed your mind?"

"Let's get to FH first, we'll sort things out once there." He suggested, and she naturally agreed. 

Skye looked at her food. As far as it could be called that. 

"Ew…what's this brown stuff?" She asked with a disgusted face. There were brown chunks floating in darker brown liquid. Eating had never seemed this revolting before. 

Squall moved the can to his mouth and ate one of the food chunks, although it looked more like he was drinking soda, which said a lot about the quality and texture (or total lack thereof!). 

"I told you, they're rations. It's not great, but it will have to do."

-"No thanks." She sighed, placing the can beside her. "I'll pass."

Squall had only taken a few small portions when he got up and moved to the cockpit doorway. There had been a sound that alerted him, a beep of some sort. He sat down and slowly acquainted himself with the instruments and their readings. He found the origin of the sound soon enough, as the beeping got not only louder but also faster, with less and less time between each beep. His eyes widened in quick realization. 

"Skye, brace yourself!"

She grabbed the handles of her seat just moments before the entire transport shook with substantial force. She looked out the small viewports lining the hull and saw another transport vessel coming up along side theirs. The other vessel pulled away slightly, sped up, and hit hard again. The two vessel were scraping each others paint off. 

"What's he doing!" She panicked, seeing the hull in front of her bending inwards, while the high-pitched metal screams protested against the force applied to it. 

"Just hold on." Squall yelled at her. He was fighting the controls. The engine output was dropping and with the other vessel's mass added to theirs, the steer hardly responded to his actions. The transport began to sway when it was supposed to be going in a straight line. Then, instead of trying to break free he slammed back at the other vessel, and the tactic worked, the vessel broke off. But it was still right in their wake, stalking them. 

A blinking screen informed Squall of what he already knew, their transport had sustained heavy damage on one side. Their maximum speed had almost halved and the other transport, only lightly damaged, had no trouble keeping up. 

Out in the open seas, with nothing but endless dark blue water in sight, the one transport hunted the other, breaking through crashing waves that Squall and Skye's transport caused in its wake. 

Machinegun fire erupted from the pursuing transport, spraying the aft of Squall's transport. It sounded like a heavy rain of hailstones hitting a window. Skye made herself small and covered her face with her arms instinctively. The bullets sounded dangerously close to her. 

The transport began rocking side to side as Squall no doubt tried his best to avoid the incoming fire but it was of little use with reduced maneuverability. They straightened out again, or as best the vessel still could anyway.

Skye nearly jumped out of her skin when Squall entered the passenger compartment. 

"Hey- who's steering this thing?!" She yelled at him.

He unfastened her straps and pulled her up. "You are."

"What do you mean? I can't--"

"You CAN." He told her with confidence. "I've put the safeties on, you can't do anything stupid, and the basic controls aren't too hard to master. Just hold on to the steer and follow my orders. It's easy as riding a bike. "

Though his tone was harsh, it sobered her up, preventing from further panicking. She did as told and took a seat behind the alien-looking array of controls. Over her shoulder she saw Squall climbing up a ladder and opening up the top hatch. 

Easy as riding a bike. Squall's words repeated in Skye's mind…there was only one problem then.

She couldn't recall ever riding a bike before.

The other vessel's machine guns found a new target when Squall manned the turret. He kept his head low waiting for the burst to end. When it did, he popped up and squeezed the trigger of the twin guns at his disposal. Soon ejected empty shells piled up at his feet. Squall spotted a blonde-haired man ducking behind the armored plating. 

The bullets he had fired did virtually no damage to the thick shell of the other transport. Squall ducked when his guns paused to reload, and the other ones fired. The two Balamb transports exchanged deadly machinegun fire like this for some time, without doing any serious damage to either vessel. Squall peeked over the plating that protected his life, wondering why the other had stopped. Now he was sure of who he was dealing with- he identified Seifer as the one manning the other transport's guns. Seifer's vessel pulled out of the wake of theirs and to the left, to get a clear shot on the side that had been severely damaged by the repeated collisions. With the armored plating ripped open in several places, the side wouldn't be able to sustain much of an attack. 

Squall thanked himself for having followed the classes on naval combat. He knew all the enemy needed to do was make a leak- didn't even have to be a big one, at these speeds the water would flood in anyway, and the hull, however reinforced it was, would buckle under the pressure. 

"Skye!" Squall called down to her with great urgency. "When I tell you to, shut off the engines!"

She had already found the large throttle lever and held on to it with her left hand, holding the steer with the other. She was smaller than her seat and felt like a dwarf in a giant's chair…but with a little help from the vessel's navigation system, she wasn't doing too bad. 

Seifer's vessel crept up and Squall saw the machine guns being turned to target their weakened hull. Seifer smirked and opened up fire. 

"Now!" Squall yelled.

Their transport abruptly fell back and the bullets flew by Skye's front viewports, hitting only air and eventually, water. 

"Quickly hit the gas and try to come up behind them." Squall ordered and spun the turret on its circular track to face front. He closed one eye and with the other looked through the crosshair. 

Skye was beginning to get the hang of it and perfectly lined up behind the other vessel, just where Squall wanted to be.

It was a difficult shot that he had planned, but the only chance to shake off their pursuers. Squall's guns started spewing bullets and they splashed into the water just behind Seifer's transport. Seifer himself had ducked at first but when he realized the bullets weren't aimed for him, got up and turned his guns to return fire. 

"What are you doing?" Skye called up as bullets bounced off of their vessel's front armor. 

Squall fired in short concentrated bursts and just before his clip was out, his bullets did their job. There was a small underwater explosion underneath the aft of Seifer's transport and it visibly lost power. 

Quickly reacting to the change, Skye with some effort steered them out of the other vessel's path. Now their ship, despite having only half the maximum speed, was by far the faster one. Squall let go of the trigger and looked back, satisfied, at Seifer's transport. It was now practically dead in the water with a blown engine, they'd only have one back-up engine but it wouldn't provide enough speed to give chase. 

Seifer shot a couple of more times at them but they were already gaining distance. 

Squall smiled and welcomed the wind that blew across his face and through his hair. They'd escaped--again. 

------------------------------------------

After knocking and being welcomed in from the other side, Kenan entered his sister Tia's quarters. She was still lying in bed, black hair fanned out across her large white pillow. Her skin was pale and she generally seemed unwell.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." She said.

Kenan looked at his wound that he had gotten wrapped up in bandage in the mean time. "Yeah, it's just this one injury, but it's alright. Doesn't even hurt much."

He looked at her. "How are you holding up?"

She rested her head back on her pillow. "Still feels like someone shoved Sorceress powers down my throat." 

Kenan took up a seat close to the bed and became mournful. "I'm sorry Ti, I really am."

She reached for his hand and held on to it.

-"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She told him. "It's not your fault, you know that."

He was studying the back of his own hand as if it was interesting. "Yeah, I guess."

"Hey, is something the matter?"

"This guy came by earlier. Squall Leonhart." He began. "He started telling this amazing story about how he and the team -me excluded- had already defeated Ultimecia. Said he was supposed to be the Commander instead of me."

She took it in without looking as stunned as he was at the time. "Did you believe him?"

He grinned. "No. We thought he was a Galbadian spy, and locked him up."

His tone suddenly changed. "But he escaped sometime during the battle just now. Together with Sorceress Skye- remember I told you about her?"

Tia nodded. "Yes. Poor girl, I know how she feels. Maybe you shouldn't have treated her the way you did, don't you think that's why she ran away?"

"She's not like you Tia. She may have actually gotten her powers willingly, although with that condition of hers we couldn't get much out of her. Either way, it's not the same."

He looked for some sign of approval in his sister's purple eyes. "That's what made her so dangerous and unpredictable Ti, don't you understand? You're still a Balamb student, we know you're on our side, but with her there's no telling."

She was entirely swayed. "But you told me that the Headmaster had advised you that he thought the Galbadians could be after her. If she's the enemy's enemy--"

He stopped her there. He knew exactly what she meant to say, as it was something that had crossed his mind as well.

"One plus one doesn't always make two Ti. I mean Leonhart seems to be running from the Galbadians too. We don't really know why…but, maybe there's a third side to be on? In the past, powerful Sorceresses have always fought one and other for total domination. Just look at the Adel-Lumia wars twenty years ago. If Laguna Loire hadn't gotten rid of Adel, that war could have gone on indefinitely."

He got up. "Anyway, I should be going. Things are kind of hectic right now, we're about to move out again."

"Okay."

He was already at the door when Tia called his name. He turned. "Yeah?"

"About Squall's story." 

This perked his interest. "What about it?"

"Whether it's true or not…I'll still be your sister, won't I?"

A smile spread on his combat-battered face. "Yeah, of course."

He didn't see the wisdom in her words until he was marching through the corridor. He loved Tia for being able to think outside the box. She didn't speculate about the truth of the guy's claims, but cleverly pointed out that there were some things no amount of Squall Leonharts could ever change. 

While heading for the Headmaster's Office, Kenan couldn't help but wonder if Leonhart had any brothers or sisters…

------------------------------------------

"We're almost there." Squall told her as he saw FH's distinctive shape looming up in the distance. 

Skye was back in one of the passenger seats again. She was happy to have proven her usefulness when she took control of the vessel, but now there was no particular need for her at the helm. Nor for Squall. The autopilot could manage getting them to FH, despite the damage suffered. 

"Something wrong?" Skye asked her, noticing wrinkles on her companion's forehead.

He closed his eyes and bowed down his head, away from the overhead light, as if this was hurting him. 

"Just tired." He told her. "I can't explain it- I shouldn't be at this hour. But it's been coming and going."

-"Maybe with having to escape and all." She offered.

Squall wasn't at all unfamiliar with the term known as combat fatigue, but that wasn't it. His drowsiness was linked to his headaches, which in turn he felt was linked to the phenomenon that started everything. He still didn't have a clue what that was, and hadn't even thought about it for a while now, circumstances forcing him to focus on something else. 

Now was no different. A beeping sound came from the cockpit. He and Skye shared concerned looks.

"Stay here."

Squall ran and plopped down behind the controls. The beep sounded different. It came from a different system this time. He relaxed when he found it was merely the autopilot telling him it was done with its programmed task. It had taken them close to FH, the docking had to be done manually. 

-"Is everything okay?" Skye asked from her seat.

"Yeah, I just need to dock." Squall replied. 

Carefully Squall lowered speed and, avoiding a few old barges and fishing boats, maneuvered his vessel in one of the many docking spaces at FH harbor. 

He docked the vessel beside a huge crane that cast a huge shadow on their spot. With luck, their vessel would hardly be noticed by anyone.

"All right," Squall said as they came to a full stop. "Let's go."

He opened up the vessel's side entrance and switched off the main control panel. For a second he wondered if there was a way to lock the controls but then he considered there were no thieves in Fisherman's Horizon. Squall had gotten out first and with his hand supported Skye walked down the steps. She took a deep breath of the brisk, salty, but clean sea air and then smiled. 

"It's so…so--" She searched to put her feeling into words.

-"Fresh?" 

She visibly perked up. "Yeah! Exactly that."

With her eyes she started to explore the town, all the while looking more amazed and joyous. This town, had such a great atmosphere to it. So quiet, so peaceful. In some ways the opposite of Balamb Garden. She wouldn't mind staying here for a while, but didn't figure she would. That Seifer guy could still be after her. 

She turned to look for Squall but he'd disappeared. "Squall?"

A few seconds later his voice came from inside the transport. "Here, catch." 

She turned and a backpack flew right in her arms. 

-"Whoa, what's this?" Skye asked as Squall stepped out and closed the entrance. He carried a backpack too.

"I found those under the seats." He explained, moving his shoulders up a bit so his backpack wouldn't suddenly slip off. "We can bring a some rations with us in that."

-"Hmph.." Skye uttered, putting on her backpack. "I still think we should just dump those awful cans."

"I also found this." Squall said holding up a handful of coins. "We can use it to check into a hotel."

"It is a very long walk towards Esthar, and I'm tired." He added as an explanation. "We need a short break."

-"Yeah, that's not a bad idea." Skye agreed. 

He started climbing a set of stairs that lead to the main street. She skipped after him, obviously in a good mood. 

He looked aside. "What is it?"

She bounced on her toes and smiled. "Thinking of taking me along aren't ya?"

He kept walking. _How did she know that? _"Yeah. It's mutually beneficial."

"Mutually beneficial!" She laughed, trying to mimic the seriousness of his face. 

Squall started to become annoyed. Upon seeing this Skye only laughed again. 

After a while he stopped. "What's so funny?"

A look of innocent came over her face. "Nothin'."

He resumed walking, rolling his eyes. This girl had special powers alright- the power to make him grouchy for one. She appeared at his side again, still quite the walking bundle of joy. Squall wondered if the brisk air had affected her brain. 

In the distance, on a rundown fishing boat bearing the name "Old Faithful", a number of fishermen stood watching the couple as they crossed the main street. The men were all clad in flimsy yellow raincoats with their hoods up over their heads. They dropped their fishing rods and turned to one and other.

"Is that the one ?" Asked one.

-"Short girl, blonde hair with red highlights, that's her alright." Said the second. 

"Should we move Hank?" The first asked. 

-"The name is Jack." A third said with heldback anger. "And no, let's wait for the Commander to arrive. I heard he's on his way now."

The first nodded. "Yeah, the Commander will know what to do with her."

------------------------------------------

Commander Gantt and the rest of the gang had joined up in Cid's office again. If they looked like a raggedy bunch before, they certainly looked it now. Irvine's outfit was covered in charcoal and part of his trusty purple body armor that he always wore beneath his coat had actually melted. Zell's hair, flamboyant and striking when at its best, now after the battle was standing straight up as if it'd been scared- or in contact with electricity. Considering his skirmishes with the droid squads it was likely latter. 

Selphie's once yellow dress had become gray with the dust from the Galbadia Garden explosion. Quistis, though her clothes the least affected of all, had a smudged face that was wrinkled in concern, where normally it looked young and healthy. The Commander had an arm wrapped up in bandages and some dried up bloodstains on his dark battle suit. 

He looked aside. Zell and Irvine were leaning against each other. A sleepy-looking Selphie standing up straight a few feet away. The excess energy she usually possesses seemed drained. Quistis, whom stood aside her, appeared the least effected by exhaustion of all. She examined Kenan's bandage around his arm. He smiled, assuring her he was fine.

"Irvine, Zell, get it together." Kenan ordered, thinking by now those two knew he liked a disciplined squad. 

Moaning, Irvine scratched the back of his head and stood at attention. 

Zell rubbed his eyes, looking aside. "H-ey, and what about Selphie?"

"At least she's standing straight." Quistis replied. 

Selphie was about to say something, then they heard the small elevator descended.

"Ah, you're all here." Headmaster smiled. The elevator reached the floor and he stepped off.

Zell grumbled but managed to keep from complaining. 

Headmaster Cid smiled. "Sorry to call upon you all again but it's rather important."

-"What's the matter, Sir?" Quistis asked.

His smile faded.

Kenan studied the Headmaster's expression. "The Sorceress?"

"Indeed Commander," Cid replied. "She managed to escape in one of our transports."

-"Where to?" Irvine asked.

Selphie patted him on the back. "Hey, you're awake!"

He squirmed at her touch. "Ouch, gentle, gentle please." 

"The transport is nearing Fisherman's Horizon." Cid told them, studying a small black object he held in one hand.

-"I knew it," Kenan concluded. "You should have let us SeeDs handle it." He didn't believe a bunch of students were up to the task. He was proven to be right.

Putting his hands behind his back, the Headmaster started pacing back and forth in his office.

"They might have caught her if Seifer hadn't interfered."

Zell gritted his teeth. "I hate that guy so much."

"So the question is, whose side is Squall Leonhart on, if not on Seifer's? And why is he helping the Sorceress?" Quistis was voicing her thoughts. 

Suddenly stopping with pacing about, the Headmaster turned to Quistis. "Perhaps he isn't aware of the threat she poses."

Selphie thought back to the picture she'd seen. That Sorceress looked like just an average girl, perhaps even about her own age. She knew better than to question the Headmaster, but still, what threat could she possibly pose? 

The others appeared to be thinking the same. Well, except Zell of course. Selphie could just imagine all he thought about were hotdogs. 

-"Everything's ready, Sir." A woman's voice said.

They turned and noticed Xu walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Ready for what?" Zell asked.

-"We're heading to FH." Kenan explained.

"Oh, hey everyone." Xu greeted with a warm smile. "You guys all right?"

-"No…" Zell moaned.

Quistis giggled. "They're fine. Just a little tired."

-"A LITTLE?" Zell exclaimed with eyes wide. "Man, I could sleep for a hundred years right about now!"

Kenan cleared his throat, a sure sign for Zell to shut his trap.

Xu smiled and stepped on the small elevator. "Well, I'm glad you're all okay."

"See ya later." She said as she went up to the Garden's controls.

Running his hand through his hair, Kenan looked at Cid questioningly. "So, are WE going after Skye this time, Sir?"

"Always straight to the point, Commander." He replied. "But, you are correct."

"Your mission is to recapture her and bring her back here."

-"And Squall?" Selphie wondered. "Do we have to capture him as well?"

Cid frowned. "I'd rather it didn't have to come to that. And don't harm him either."

"Tell Mr. Leonhart I want to talk to him." He added. "And that this time, I'm willing to listen."

-"I think we understand." Quistis told Cid. "If he's an ally, we could persuade him to help us."

Zell sighed. "Can't someone else do all that? We already have one Sorceress to take on."

"Ultimecia herself hasn't made a move for days," Kenan offered. "Plus others weren't up to the task, we are."

-"Yeah…we kick ass…" Selphie yawned and then quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to be inappropriate in front of the Headmaster. Or being inappropriate in company of the Commander for that matter.

Quistis stared up at the sky. It turned around, playing tricks with her sense of balance and orientation. She realized it was in the fact the Garden that turned.

The room vibrated, and the Garden slowly started picking up speed. Below on the 1st floor a student cursed loudly, having his impressive house of cards ruined thanks the sudden acceleration. 

"You'll be dropped off in FH." The Headmaster explained. "We will remain there until you return and repairs to the Garden are completed."

"Are they going to Esthar?" Kenan asked studying a small print of the world map. He figured that was the only logical choice. No Sorceress or SeeD could ever have much business in a town like Fisherman's Horizon. 

Cid smiled. "That's what I assume Commander. Possibly to visit Doctor Odine, to remove the Odine's bangle."

Zell started punching the air. "Hey, we can't let that happen!" 

Irvine rested his shotgun on his shoulder. "Don't worry Zell, it aint gonna happen."

-"We should warn President Loire." Quistis suggested. "I'm sure they'll be able to detain the Sorceress."

"Yes. But the communication panels were damaged during the battle." Cid told them. "We're unable to contact anyone on the outside."

"Bummer." Zell mumbled.

Headmaster Cid handed a small device to Kenan. "With this you can locate Sorceress Skye."

Kenan carefully put the device in his pocket. "It shouldn't be hard then." 

"We'll reach FH in a few minutes." Cid informed them. "I suggest you go to the second floor observation deck and move out as soon as we dock. I hope the Mayor won't give you any trouble this time." 

Irvine agreed. "The sooner we complete this mission, the better."

Zell and Irvine opened the office door. 

"After you." Irvine said, gesturing Zell with his hat to go through. The cowboy mourned for the loss of his favorite coat, but somehow his beloved hat had survived the battle. 

-"Naw, you first." Zell replied, not quite trusting Irvine. 

Selphie patted Irvine on the back and walked through the door towards the elevator. 

The cowboy yelped. "Hey! Don't forget my backside was lightly sizzled recently." 

He followed Selphie to the elevator with the rest of the team. 

-"Oh, one more thing." The Headmaster spoke from his office doorway. 

Selphie pressed the call button and turned around. "Sir?"

"Clearly the Galbadians are still after Sorceress Skye." He said with a concerned look. "Be careful."

A small light blinked and the elevator doors slid open. 

"We'll be right back Sir." Kenan assured the Headmaster as he and the others stepped inside the elevator.

-"Ugh, I get the feeling it's kinda too small for all of us." Selphie mumbled, being pushed against one side.

The doors closed. Quistis pushed the button for the 2nd floor and they descended.

Apart from the elevator's engine, there was an eerie silence. _The silence before the storm? _

Irvine laughed and patted Kenan on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Zell leaning against the wall panel with his cheek. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open.

"The excitement never stops with Zell around…" Selphie grinned. 

The elevator stopped and Quistis was first to step out as the doors slid open.

Kenan and Irvine quickly followed.

"Hey," Selphie exclaimed, hands on her hips. "Zell, wake UP!"

He moaned something incoherent and hardly moved a muscle.

She kicked him in the shin. "I said, WAKE UP!"

-"OW! Aah! I'm up! I'm up!" Zell yelled as he stumbled out the elevator, jumping on one leg.

"Is it just me, or does this look familiar?" Irvine asked.

Kenan smirked. "Fujin and Raijin…"

The group proceeded down the second floor hall towards the observation deck, Zell limping behind.

------------------------------------------

Squall turned the doorknob. The crummy wooden door swung open, heavily screeching. 

"This the best room you could get?" Skye asked, looking around the rather cramped hotel chamber. It was better than the brig they were in earlier-- but not by much. 

Two simple, separate beds filled up the most of the hotel room. A colorful rug in between the beds added a bit of a cozy feeling, but not enough to compensate for the dull gray walls. 

There was one empty oak-wood closet, placed against the opposite wall. Next to it a small sink with a mirror.

She noticed the room didn't even have a window. 

-"It's just to take a quick rest." Squall reminded her. He let Skye step in first and then followed, shutting the door behind him. At once his tiredness returned. Or maybe now that he knew they'd be safe for a while, he stopped suppressing it. 

Skye threw off her backpack and plopped down on one of the beds. She laughed as she bounced up slightly. "Wow, they don't look much but these beds are great." 

Squall sat down on the edge of the other bed. He took off his boots and jacket, glad he could finally rest. Placing them other the bed together with his gunblade and the backpack, he lay down.

Squall stared up at the ceiling. _Rinoa…what happened to you? What happened to me? This is all so…weird_

Skye lay with her cheek on the pillow, facing Squall. "Hey Squall, can I ask you something?"

He grinned. "Nothing stopped you from doing that before." 

She rested her head on one hand. "Why did you help me in the first place? I know you were seriously contemplating about whether or not to take me along back there on the transport, but why help at all? You could have escaped the Garden without me. That would have been easier."

-"I don't know," Squall replied. "You looked like you could use some help."

After a short pause he cocked his head at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

-"What's it like, not knowing anything?"

She didn't answer right away. That alone told Squall plenty. Sometimes a silence screamed, something only a quiet person such as himself could truly understand. 

"It's…like walking in the dark." She reflected. "Total darkness. And I have no idea how to get out, or if there's even a way out at all. Maybe the dark is all there is? That scares me beyond belief."

Squall turned back to the ceiling. "But, is it worse than knowing what you've lost…?"

His thoughts wandered again to Rinoa. He could picture her face. She was smiling at him, then pointed her finger up at the sky. The picture expanded into the memory, and for one short moment, he could see himself standing on the balcony of the Quad, enjoying a star-lit night sky with his love. But it was just that- a memory. It had no substance; it wasn't real.

"I…" She wavered for an instance, thinking about it. "Yeah, I think so."

Squall frowned. "I don't understand. Somehow you've become a Sorceress, that never happens pleasantly. Maybe it's good not to remember some things."

-"This conversation isn't about my condition anymore, is it?" 

He didn't say anything to that. Didn't have to. Skye knew she was right. He had to admit that she was a smarter girl than he initially gave her credit for. But she was also scared, even now. She tried to be cheery but he'd seen her good mood go away when the hotel manager had suspiciously looked at them. It could have simply been her shabby clothes, or the fact that he was carrying a sword, or perhaps it was both. Either way, it was in this moment that he truly made up his mind. 

He would have to take Skye along, there was no choice. He owed her. If it weren't for her presence, he would have reverted to his old self- withdrawn, reclusive. Without her knowing it, Skye forced him to be social, to care even. Regardless of his own worries, he worried for her sake too. 

He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left Skye behind in FH. 

Skye observed Squall for a few moments. His eyes were shut. The unexplained tiredness he was telling her about appeared to have won the battle. 

She crawled up and walked to the sink. In turning the valve, a stream of water poured out. She held her hands and arms under it, rubbing off the smudges and stains. 

Bending forwards, she splashed some water in her face. 

Skye got up and stared into the mirror that confronted her with an unfamiliar image…that of her own face. 

"…Sorceress Skye…" She whispered to herself. "That's me?"

------------------------------------------

"What do you mean 'it's not opening'?" Zell asked, pushing Quistis aside.

Much too everyone's disgust, he spat on his hands and rubbed them together. 

"Good luck." Quistis sighed, doubting Zell could open it.

-"We're rooting for ya." Kenan laughed.

Zell took a deep breath, made sure he was firmly planted, then pushed the metal door with all his might. 

-"Not opening so much as an inch there," Irvine observed. "Keep it up Dincht." 

"UGH!" Zell yelled as his face gradually turned red.

Quistis shook her head and turned to examine the panel next to the door. She pushed the open button again but nothing happened. Not even an error indicator. Now that she looked at the panel more closely, it seemed completely shut off. How strange, a power failure?

"Pooooof!" Zell uttered as he let out all the air in his lungs. "Okay. It's not opening."

-"I already came to that conclusion Zell." Quistis giggled.

Selphie threw up her hands. "We can't get out!"

"Hmm," Kenan mumbled, rubbing his unshaved chin. "Not through this exit anyway"

The second floor deck wasn't the only exit. Only the most convenient for entering FH, as most of the city was built above the water, when the Garden's main entrance was exactly at water level. 

Kenan looked aside. The panel next to the emergency exit didn't seem to function either.

Quistis crossed her arms. "We'd better inform the technicians about this."

"Let's just go to the front gate." Kenan suggested. "We'll probably have to climb up somewhere…we'll see."

They went back to the elevator. 

A student stood pacing back and forth in front of the elevator doors. 

"Sir," She said as the Commander and the other SeeDs approached her. "I think it's out of order."

-"It was working fine just a minute ago." Quistis told the student.

"Something very strange is going on here." Irvine concluded.

-"Great," Zell uttered, leaning over the railing like a sandbag. "We're stuck up here."

"Well, we could always throw you down." Selphie chuckled.

Kenan pressed the button to call the elevator, but to no avail. "Looks like we'll have to wait then."

Zell plopped down on the floor. He crossed his legs and pulled out a deck of cards. "Triple Triad, anyone?'

"Not THAT again…" Kenan mumbled covering his face with his hands.

Zell looked up. "Quistis? How about it?"

-"No thanks," She smiled. "Maybe later."

Grinning, Kenan threw his arm around Quistis. "Ha, she hasn't played since I beat her."

She shook off his arm. "You were just lucky."

He tossed her a charming grin. "Oh really?"

-"Uhm…guys?" Selphie interrupted. "We have to get to FH, the Sorceress might be getting away!"

Kenan walked to the railing and stared down. "Right, we need some rope…" 

Irvine frowned. "I doubt there is any on this floor. Just lots of classrooms."

-"I know." Quistis said, her face lit up. "We should use the remaining jetpack."

"What jetpack?" Zell asked, putting his cards back in his pockets and standing up.

-"Seifer entered this Garden in a jetpack, along with two Para-troopers." She explained. "He used one to escape, and Squall used one to escape. So,"

"There should be one left." Irvine deducted.

Zell redid the math on his fingers and reached that same conclusion. 

-"Okay, bring it over here and I'll fly you all down one by one." Kenan told them.

Balamb Garden lowered speed and eventually came to a full stop in the dock. They had docked by the same big crane as they had before. Several nosy towns' people gathered in the main street and stared up at Balamb Garden. Even if they had seen it before, it was still a beautiful sight. But at the same time, a sense of worry spread among them. What if they would lead the evil Sorceress right to them? The mayor walked up to crowd of people. 

"Don't worry," He assured his citizens. "I'll handle this." Did those militaristic barbarians really expect they could just drop by like that? The nerve of these people…

------------------------------------------

Fujin judged they were about halfway to FH now. The damaged boat wasn't going exactly what one would call fast. She was behind the controls now, but bored out of her mind. All she needed to do was keep the boat steady, but even Raijin could do that. 

-"This is no fun, ya know?" Raijin uttered, leaning against the doorway. 

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Seifer still stood up top. A flock of seagulls flew over. He followed them with his eyes until they disappeared over the horizon. He got bored with the view and climbed down. He had overhead his comrades' conversation.

"I have a feeling we'll get enough action soon," He told Raijin and Fujin. "Relax for now." 

He sat down and somehow found an old issue of Weapons Monthly under his seat. He casually sat back and started to sift through the pages. With much interest Seifer glared at the gunblade page. He didn't have one for the time being, so maybe he should get one in Fisherman's Horizon. That Flame Saber sure looked good.

"Hey! Lemme see, lemme see!" Raijin cried out, noticing the Weapon's Monthly issue Seifer was holding.

Seifer smirked and threw the magazine far out the top hatch and into the sea. "C'mon Raijin, no weapons of any interest to you in it…"

Raijin's body sagged. "Hey…what if I want to try out a gunblade?"

Seifer laughed. "YOU? A gunblade? Heh, right."

-"FOOL." Fujin said in agreement with Seifer. Only a few people can handle a gunblade, she very much doubted Raijin was one of those. 

Punching the bulkhead hard, he showed his fury. "I COULD! YA KNOW!" 

The tiniest hint of a crack appeared in the metal. Raijin inspected his fist; it was a glowing red color. 

Fujin sighed, unimpressed, and turned back to the steering wheel.

"You just use your staff or whatever you call it." Seifer suggested, equally unimpressed by Raijin's little outburst. The day he would fear Raijin…naw…who was he kidding, that would never happen.

Raijin sat down in one of the seats and his stomach churned loudly. He looked to Fujin, like a dog begging his master for food. She didn't respond. Then he turned to Seifer. 

He replied by throwing up his hands. "I don't have any food. We forgot to pack."

"Ah! I'm gonna die of starvation!" Raijin whimpered. 

Seifer walked past Raijin and joined up with Fujin in the narrow cockpit.

"Did I see Balamb Garden fly by over the horizon a few minutes ago?" He asked. "It was too far away to tell. Whatever it was, it was heading in the same direction as we are."

-"AFFIRMATIVE." 

Seifer crossed his arms. "Well well, looks like we get to swat two flies with one blow..."

She turned to Seifer questioningly. "SEED?"

"Yeah, they're probably after Sorceress Skye as well." He replied without sounding at all concerned.

Raijin shook his attention from his stomach. "What's so important about her, ya know?" 

"I don't know." Seifer replied. "Ultimecia wants her captured, that's all I've been told."

Scratching his head, Raijin thought back to his encounter with Kenan and the SeeDs in Balamb some time ago. They said Seifer was just an obedient dog to the Sorceress. That hurt. He didn't know his buddy to ever conform to..well..anyone. 

Oh well, Raijin was sure Seifer knew what he was doing. 

"Wake me up when we reach FH…" Seifer yawned and moved back to his seat, sinking into it. 

-"Roger, ya know."


	5. AE Chapter 5

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna-_

===========================

**Chapter 5: Fishermen…**

"Thanks for the ride." Irvine said as he jumped off from Kenan's jetpack. He was the last of the team to be airlifted down from the second floor. It had been quite the delay. 

Kenan threw off the jetpack and joined up with a growing crowd of students in the main hall, wondering what in the name of Odin was going on now. 

"Calm down." Quistis told the students. "I'm sure it's only temporarily."

Irvine stood on his toes and peered over the pack of students. He saw Quistis and Selphie standing in the center of them, boxed in by the student body. 

"What's wrong here?" Kenan asked, gently pushing his way towards Quistis.

She shook her head. "There seem to be power malfunctions on this floor as well, some students were nearly crushed by doors that suddenly slid shut."

-"But lights are still on." Irvine said, looking around. "Couldn't be a complete power outage then."

A young student, probably no older than ten, pulled on Kenan's hand. 

"Uhm…Commander?" The small boy called.

Kenan smiled and got down on one knee. "What can I help you with?"

The boy's eyes started tearing a bit. He quickly wiped them. "Me, and my friends were just at the Training Center…"

-"Go on." Kenan assured him.

"Well, we wanted to go to the Cafeteria, but when I got out, the door closed up behind me!" The boy told him. 

He was clearly not joking around.

"So, your friends trapped?" Irvine asked, having also listened to the young student.

-"Yes Sir." He replied with a sad tone of voice.

Kenan took Irvine aside. "We don't have time for this." He whispered. "We've got a Sorceress to catch."

-"True, but we gotta help 'em." Irvine replied, also whispering.

"Hate it when you're right Pineapple." Kenan grunted lightly. 

He jumped upon a bench so he could overlook the whole crowd.

"Listen up," He practically shouted. The students quieted down. "I have a mission for..uh..five strong students…"

Five people were probably too many just to open one door, but Kenan figured it couldn't hurt to get more muscle into it than necessary. Those young students' lives could be at stake.

At least ten students stepped up to volunteer. 

"Okay, you five," Kenan said, pointing to the first row of five students from left to right. "Go to the Training Center. This young student here will tell you what needs to be done."

The boy beamed. He felt honored to be put in command of five older students by the Commander himself.

-"Sir." The five students saluted and ran to the Training Center with the young student.

"What was that about?" Selphie asked Kenan as he got off the bench. 

He replied with a never-mind gesture. "Let's just go before there's more delays."

Selphie patted Quistis on her shoulder. "Let's go."

She quickly said goodbye to the students she was conversing with and followed Selphie. The students all turned to complain to Doctor Kadowaki as she approached, and was ambushed from..well..all sides really. Students were pretty scary folk when properly motivated. 

Quistis met up with Kenan and Irvine in front of the Balamb Garden map, in the middle of the main hall.

"Where's Zell?" Irvine wondered, scanning around.

-"Hey!" Selphie sarcastically pouted. "You didn't forget to fly him down, did ya Kenan?"

She smiled. "Kudos if you did."

-"I heard that!" A voice yelled from the gates. 

The SeeDs looked up ahead and noticed Zell was waiting for them.

"Wow." Irvine gasped. "Don't normally see that."

-"Welcome to the zone where normal things don't happen…very often." Kenan grinned, approaching Zell.

Zell leaned against the booth at the gates. "About time you guys got here."

Walking right past Zell, Kenan got a better view of Fisherman's Horizon.

As before, the big crane served as an excellent docking platform, connected, unfortunately to the second floor deck, and the second floor deck only. 

From down where they were it was a bit harder to reach FH. Now of the Garden was the size of say a fishing boat they could have docked it at one of the many normal docking places, but since this wasn't the case, there was a good distance between them an FH 'shore'. 

"Oh no!" Selphie exclaimed, staring at the nearest dock that would lead up to the main street.

-"What now?" Zell wondered. He caught up with Kenan.

"We'll have to cross some water." Kenan told the others, noticing there wasn't any direct connection to the town.

-"In other words…swim." Zell uttered, scratching the back of his head. 

"Not necessarily." Quistis said, not feeling much for getting wet either. "Balamb Garden has rafts."

-"Right. Zell, Quistis, get one over here." Kenan ordered them. "And fast, we've wasted enough time already."

Quistis nodded and ran off. Zell followed, heavily moaning. Why did he always have to do all the work?

"Hey Kenan." Irvine called, doing a few stretching exercises next to him.

-"Yeah?"

"How's Tia?" Irvine asked with a sincere face of concern. "Has she recovered yet?"

-"Yeah!" Selphie exclaimed. "I haven't seen your sis in a while. Is she okay?"

Kenan shrugged. "She's starting to get a bit better, but she was still in bed."

-"But that's not what's on my mind now." He quickly added. "We've got another Sorceress to worry about." 

"Why don't ya check that tracking thing?" Irvine suggested. "Maybe she has left FH already, it's possible."

Reaching for the tracking device in his pocket, Kenan grew a worried look. Irvine was right, the Sorceress could have gotten away in the mean time. Those transports are wicked fast…

Upon carefully inspecting the display on the device, Kenan smirked. "She's close by, still here in FH."

Selphie leaned over Kenan's shoulder. She could clearly see the device, but couldn't make much of the display. There where several dots, lines, circles and stuff. It was too technical for her to understand in one glance.

"Great!" Irvine said, clapping his hands together. "We'll have her in no time."

------------------------------------------

"Squall."

….

"Squall!" Skye called again, more forcefully this time.

It took Squall a few seconds to realize where he was as he opened his eyes. He got up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Still feeling sleepy, he gathered his stuff from under the bed. 

Skye sat down next to him. "Sorry I had to wake you so soon, but I have a feeling we'd better go now."

Squall put on his boots, and looked at Skye. "Are the Galbadians here?"

She shook her head. "Balamb Garden."

He noticed the room's door was wide open. Balamb Garden…here? Docked in FH? 

Putting on his jacket, Squall stood up. "Okay, we'd best hurry."

"Right." Skye agreed, moving to the doorway. She had already grabbed her backpack and seemed ready to go.

-"Did you even sleep?" Squall asked, quickly grabbing his gunblade.

She smiled. "Not really, but it's okay. Someone had to be on watch."

Squall looked around the room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. 

As he walked to the hotel hall, Skye shut the room's door, handing the key to Squall. 

"The Garden arrived a few minutes ago." She explained. "I haven't seen anyone come out though."

-"They're probably after us." Squall said as they walked down the hall.

She looked thoughtful for a second, then shook her head. "No, it's because of me."

The hotel manager politely smiled as the two young ones walked by. 

Squall threw the room key in the manager's hands. "We're checking out."

"Of course." He replied, grabbing a small book from behind his counter. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind him and made a note in the book. 

The manger looked up and smiled. "Have a nice day, and please, come again."

Squall and Skye walked outside. Almost everyone in the town seemed gathered up ahead. They were looking at Balamb Garden, as if waiting for someone to exit it. 

The Garden was docked at the usual place, beside the huge crane.

"So, you didn't see any come out there?" Squall asked, pointing to the second floor deck of Balamb Garden.

-"No. Not anywhere else either." She stated. 

Squall patted her on the shoulder, she nodded and they both ran in the opposite direction. 

There were some fishermen in yellow coats roaming about the otherwise deserted streets. Squall and Skye shot behind a collection of fish barrels to avoid being spotted.

"Wait, why are we suddenly hiding from the townsfolk?" Skye whispered. 

-"There's something about there body language. I don't know. Just a gut feeling."

Squall patiently waited for the window of opportunity and when it came dragged Skye up again. 

"This way." Squall told her, choosing the road leading up. He looked back. The fishermen were looking in the wrong direction and nobody was following them.

Climbing up the old railway bridge, they had a great view of Fisherman's Horizon. 

"Uhm…" Skye mumbled, glaring up ahead and back. "Where is the train?" The tracks seemed to go on forever. She couldn't see any mainland in either direction. Just the railway bridge suspended above the ocean.

-"There is no train." Squall said, wondering whether or not he had told her this before. "We have to walk."

Skye sighed, looking down at her shoes. It wouldn't be comfortable walking with those old discarded student shoes. 

"I've done it before. It's far, but I don't see any other way." Squall said, eyeing Balamb Garden. "We can't go back now, they'd jump us before we could get to the transport."

Skye reluctantly put on a smile and started walking towards the horizon. 

She stopped as she realized Squall was moving in the other direction. "Hey, wait for me!"

He kept walking, knowing there was no time to waste. They'd have to reach Esthar before getting caught up by whoever was after them this time. 

"Hey, is this the only way to Esthar?" Skye asked as soon as she caught up with Squall.

-"Either this way, or by air." He replied. "Although the Garden can't fly high enough."

The sun was beginning to set as day slowly became night. An orange glow spread across the skies which was reflected in the ocean. 

"It'll be dark soon." Skye looked up.

-"Yeah, seems so. But that will make us harder to spot for them." Squall assured her, still eyeing Balamb Garden. It got smaller and smaller as they proceeded towards Esthar. 

Eventually it disappeared out of sight completely, along with FH.

In both directions, all they could see were the train tracks.

"I must be really important to them, huh?" Skye pondered, breaking the silence. She had heard about Sorceress Ultimecia from Squall. If Ultimecia were really that dangerous, SeeD would go after _her _instead of Skye. But now that they'd moved the whole Garden to follow her, she was proven wrong.

-"I don't understand it." Squall said, thinking out loud. "You are not an evil Sorceress, what do they want with you?"

"I've lost my memory Squall," She reminded him. "I could have done terrible things, but just not recall them."

He looked aside. "I've thought of that, but I doubt it. You don't seem that kind of person."

She studied him. Squall was actually a lot friendlier than he would let people believe, at least, that was her theory.

Rolling her eyes, she wondered why she always had to analyze people. Is that her power? She grinned. The power to analyze people, whoo-hoo, what a dangerous Sorceress she was. 

Squall silently watched the setting sun as they trudged further towards Esthar. It was going to be a long night…

------------------------------------------

"YOU again!" The mayor scolded as a team of five SeeDs arrived with a raft on the docks of his town. He recognized Commander Gantt, as they had spoken before. 

The SeeDs carefully stepped off the raft one by one, and tied up the raft to a nearby pole with a sturdy piece of rope.

Kenan raised an eyebrow in surprise by the amount of people standing around them. He had always thought FH was a quiet town with few inhabitants. Now there were so many people, they blocked the path to the main street.

Zell stepped up to the crowd. "SeeD business, let us through!"

Irvine restrained Zell from going into a fist flinging frenzy. "Uhm…buddy, I think you should let Kenan handle this."

The mayor stood triumphantly in front of his townsmen. 

"Commander," He called, trying to keep his voice down. Respectable people like him didn't need to yell to prove their point. "I thought you agreed to stay away from Fisherman's Horizon?"

Kenan sighed. The last thing he needed right now was to get into a debate with this peace-loving guy. 

-"Our Garden needs more repairs." Kenan explained. "And me and my team are on a mission."

"Oi!" A man, wearing a technician's uniform yelled. "We already repaired it."

Quistis crossed her arms. "You didn't do a good job last time. The damage from the battle with Galbadia Garden still clearly shows."

The man scratched the back of his head. "Well…uh, we focused mainly on getting it operational again. All the structural, 'cosmetic' damage wasn't the main concern. But we DID repair some of it!" 

"Now now," The mayor said, trying to calm down the technician. "You and your team did an excellent job, don't be bothered by these barbarians." 

Quistis and Kenan looked at each other and shook their heads. It was pointless trying to convince the mayor otherwise. According to him, Garden just was a purely aggressive military unit. One that would cause more harm than resolve it.

"Listen chum, we're gonna save the world, so don't stand in our way." Selphie exclaimed, slightly dancing around. 

-"Yeah!" Zell backed her up, taking a fighting stance. "Boo!--yaka."

"SELPHIE, ZELL!" Kenan called furiously. They were just going to get themselves into trouble with that attitude.

He turned to the mayor again. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we would appreciate it if you could assist our Garden's repair teams again."

The crowd looked questioningly at the mayor as he paced back and forth in front of them.

"Very well," He finally said, taking pleasure in having the young man at his mercy. "But I want you to leave here as soon as the repairs are complete." After all, he wasn't a fool. He may not approve of their methods, but they might just save the world from that ghastly Sorceress.

Commander Gantt saluted the mayor, and the other SeeDs followed his example. 

Quistis motioned Zell, Irvine and Selphie to walk up ahead as Kenan remained behind to discuss a few other issues with the mayor of FH. They waited for him in front of a hotel called 'The Golden Pavilion'. From what they could see, it appeared to be a nice hotel, although nothing really fancy.

"Hey…" Zell yawned. "Maybe we could go for a little nap."

Irvine shook his head. "Don't have the time…" He looked back at Kenan.

"Right, so just talk to the Headmaster about that." He said, trying to end his conversation with the mayor.

The mayor and the townsmen still didn't like the idea of the Garden being parked beside their town, but they agreed to help them once more. In the end, everyone hoped the SeeDs would soon stop the Sorceress, and restore peace to the land, so to speak. 

Kenan joined up with his team. "Gawd, that mayor's a major pain in the--"

Quistis coughed. "Let's just get on with the mission, shall we?"

Resting her nunchakus on her shoulder, Selphie scanned around. "Don't see any Sorceress here."

-"Well DUH." Zell exclaimed. "I doubt she'd just be walking in plain sight dummy."

Selphie scowled at him and he quickly hid behind Irvine. "Don't hurt me, again."

Kenan and Quistis briefly exchanged looks. Kids, that's what those two they were sometimes. So immature…

"I'll just use the tracking device." Kenan stated, grabbing it from his pocket. As he switched it on, his eyes widened.

Selphie and Zell peered over the Commander's shoulders at the screen. The blinking light was moving!

"What does this mean?" Irvine wondered, even though he could guess.

Staring ahead, then back at the screen again, Kenan began to move forward. "She's getting away."

He started to run, the others followed. 

They rounded a corner and were facing the old railway station, now a mere shadow of its former glory. In the square in front of this ruined station, a number of hooded yellow-clad fishermen were conducting a salvage operation. With some nifty looking cranes, baby brothers to the one the Garden was parked beside, they were fishing for something in the water at the north end of the square. 

The SeeDs exchanged looks. There was something wrong with this picture.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Kenan called.

His voice startled the fishing men and they all dropped what they were doing to turn around. There was a big splash. 

One fisherman turned to another that had been operating a crane. "Idiot!! You let it go!"

The man released a sheepish grin. "Sorry Hank."

"For the last time, the name is jack!" The first exploded. "JACK!! J-A-C-K!"

The third began to chuckle. "But boss, why does it read Jacques on your dogtag?"

A dumbfounded Irvine scratched the side of his chin. "What is going on here?" 

Selphie's face slowly lit up. "Heeey, isn't this where I drove the Iron Clad? Remember? You fought it thinking I was a Galbadian and it eventually fell in the water."

Kenan slowly traded the tracking device for his gun. "That's why their stupidity seemed familiar- they're not fishermen, they're Galbadian soldiers!"

Everyone else reached for their weapons too and charged into the square. Petty disputes aside the Galbadians formed a single group and dispensed with the disguises, showing their true colors-- they were almost all privates except for one Elite. For the moment the two groups just exchanged threatening looks. The Galbadians had four more men but some were trembling, aware of SeeD's reputation. 

"What the hell are you doing here in FH?!" Kenan demanded and aimed his gun at the Elite. 

He had his two mechanical machine gun arms raised back at the young Commander. "Fishing! We're just fishing!"

"For lost equipment? Hmm?" Selphie questioned. 

"N-no!" The soldier yelled back, stuttering "For..uhh…e-eel! Yeah! Eel!!"

Quistis giggled but the others glared. 

"Just give up and maybe we won't kick your asses." Zell threatened. 

Kenan looked aside at him. "Uhm, excuse me, who is the Commander?"

Rolling his eyes, Zell threw up his hands. "Okay, geez, sor-ry!"

"Now," Kenan addressed the enemy in front of him again. "Give up and maybe we won't kick your asses!"

"Hey!" Zell exclaimed. "You stole my line!"

Kenan smirked. "Commander's privilege."

"Ha! You're bully-boy tactics won't work on us!" The Elite yelled. Though at the same time he and his entire team was backing up towards the edge of the square. 

"Why are they going towards the water?" Quistis shot a whisper at Kenan.

"Not a clue." He spoke without breaking eye contact with the hot-tempered Elite. 

The Elite laughed. "Here comes the pain SeeD!"

Then, as one, the Galbadian group stopped. Kenan briefly admired the unit's Cohort-like discipline, until inhumane roars, dozens of them, made him focus on something totally different. The sounds came from inside the train station, and sooner then he wanted to, he found out who were making them. Creature after creature came stampeded down the few steps in front of the station's entrance. They were short but bulky green-scaled lizardmen, sporting gatling guns on both shoulders. Officially there were called Sam08Gs-- but right now, their name was trouble. 

The first lizardmen to arrive on the square hurled themselves at the SeeDs who were caught by surprised and overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the hidden enemy force. Before long they were surrounded and spread about the suddenly cramped square, and each was fighting desperate one-on-many battles. The word outnumbered didn't nearly cover the unfairness of the battle.

Zell was throwing punches left and right, performing combos, dodging gatling gun fire and even doing a back flip or two just caused it looked so damn cool. He was at the top of his game, but for every Sam08G that he knocked down, another would take its place. He called out to his friends and, tracing a faint reply, turned to find in Irvine in dire need of assistance. The lizardmen had closed all around him too, giving him no opportunity to get of any shot, so instead he was holding his rifle by the barrel and swinging it around as a club. An enraged Zell plowed through the Sam08Gs in his path and made it to Irvine. 

"Thanks a million buddy." He said and flipped his gun around to hold it at the right end. With Zell fending of those closest to him, he managed to fire into the Sam08G masses. The powerful rifle soon blew a corridor in the hordes and from different sides, the Commander and the two girls used it to run back to Zell and Irvine. Kenan's body armor bore claw marks all over and the wound on his arm had reopened- but otherwise he was okay. Same for the two girls, whose outfits were shredded and tattered here and there but were physically alright. 

The corridor began to close again- still more lizardmen poured from the train station, though the end of the stream was finally insight. The group, though as one, was encircled. They stood with their backs against each other, staring at the ugly visages of the relentless Sam08Gs. The constant sound of gatling gun fire nearly deafened them. 

"We can't hold up this level!" Irvine yelled over the sound of his own rifle firing another shot. He reloaded and quickly fired again, there was no need to aim because the chance of not hitting something green and scaly was almost zero. Individually each Sam08G was peanuts, but collectively they were wearing the SeeDs down, and there were becoming only too aware of this. Both Kenan and Irvine were quickly going through their ammo stocks. 

Quistis cracked her whip at yet another lizardman but she didn't even knock it down with one hit anymore- she was starting to get tired. "Kenan, we need to do something!

"Selphie!" He called over his shoulder. "Stand in our middle and start summoning Leviathan, we'll cover you!"

She stepped back and the rest shielded her as best they could while she called for the Guardian Force. 

A minuscule ring of water appeared in mid-air and expanded until a stream of water started to pour down from it. Slowly the water changed into a scaled white skin and took the form of the majestic Leviathan, Dragon of the Sea. 

Zell could finally stop busting heads himself and he brought his fists to his hips and laughed victoriously. "You fellows must be thirsty from all that fighting?"

The Sam08G masses curiously cocked their hands at the thin but tall water serpent that towered above them. Leviathan started to emit a glow and below it the ground rose up, a nice slope. Leviathans glow reached a peak when it blinded everyone around. When they looked again just a millisecond later where serpent had been now where gallons upon gallons of water, plunging down upon the slope that Leviathan had made. The watered stormed down the makeshift waterfall and at last the lizardmen knew the number of their days. The tsunami rolled over them like a big blanket and swept away everything in its path. The Sam08Gs were pushed into water, and since the all carried two heavy gatling guns…well…it was kind of tragic. 

Selphie collapsed in exhaustion as soon as the cast was finished. Irvine caught her and made sure she didn't smack her head against the pavement or anything nasty like that. Cause, hey, she'd saved their lives. 

Zell laughed triumphantly. "Aw, the itty bitty beasts went for a dive."

"Not funny." Kenan commented, staring down at a number of drowning Sams with oddly mixed feelings. "They could be an endangered species now you know?"

Zell however had happily started dancing up and down the square. "I am Sam said I, Sam I am!"

Kenan's mouth became a straight line, as he looked sour at his buddy. 

"Commander." Quistis beckoned him over. He came and saw what she was looking at. It was the Elite soldier, clinging onto the capsized baby crane for dear life, just hanging a feet above the water level. 

"Why hello there Jacques!" Kenan waved at him. 

The Elite grumbled. "It's JACK!!"

In one swift motion Kenan grabbed his gun and squeezed off a shot at the metal thread the crane was hanging by. It snapped and the Elite dive-bombed the water. Kenan blew away the smoke at the end of his gun's barrel and whirled it back into his holster. "Tell it to the eel Jacques."

Meanwhile Zell was still -almost literally- dancing on the Sam08G's graves, happily shouting all kinds of things at them.

"I guess you guys are a little wet behind the ears!" He laughed.

-"Zell." Kenan called for him to stop it. 

He pranced about merrily along the square's edge. "Oh no, the lizards are all washed up!"

"Zell?" 

He still continued laughing. "Aww what's the matter? A little water never killed anyone--unless you're drowning in it!"

"Zell!!" 

He quieted down and composed himself, looking slightly ashamed. "Sorry."

Then Irvine, looking mighty jolly, appeared beside his buddy. He pointed at one of the Sam08G's floating tail up in the water. "Hey look at that."

"What?"

Irvine grinned. "There's a piece of tail even I don't need!"

The two men doubled-up with laugher.

Kenan sighed, turning to Quistis. "The guys seem to be in a cruel mood today, huh?"

"I think they're just venting their anxiety." She commented. "It's been a while since we struck a blow like this to the Galbadians, not counting the battle this morning."

He looked at Selphie, now on her feet again. "Are you okay?"

"Yup." She beamed cheerfully as always. 

He raised his voice so it was heard over the laughter of two men. "Is everyone ready to go then?!"

It suddenly became very quiet.

"In case some people had forgotten-" He glared at Zell and Irvine in particular "-we do have a mission to complete. These lizards were just a distraction. Now LET'S GO!"

He started marching up towards the Railway Bridge, looking at the tracking device. 

Zell huffed. "What's with Mr. Sunshine today?"

Irvine patted his friend on the shoulder. "Dunno, but let's go before he yells some more." 

The group had began walking but before long they were running along the Railway Bridge- leaving FH and the relative safety of the Garden behind them.

"How far ahead is she?" Selphie asked, already starting to sweat. She could never maintain this speed for long.

"Thanks to some delays she's gotten a big headstart. " Kenan informed them. "But she should be dead ahead."

Irvine squinted. "Are you sure? I don't see anyone."

By now, the entire sky was colored dark-purple. In a few moments, night would fall. Visibility would drop even more.

Body sagging, Zell was about to complain, when Selphie jumped up in stead.

"We're not going to walk that whole stretch AGAIN, are we?!"

Quistis ran her hand through her hair. "Do we have another choice?"

-"Go back to the Garden and get a vehicle up here?" Irvine suggested, somehow proud he came up with a solid idea before Mr. Leader could.

"That could waste even more precious time. What if the Parking Lot doors won't open thanks to the power outages?" Kenan argued, seeing no other choice but to pursue, on foot. "With some luck we'll catch them on the Bridge."

Everyone sighed heavily, but followed their Commander as he walked off.

"I should have brought my hoverboard." Zell mumbled, kicking nearly every small stone that lay in his path.

He made up the rear of the team. Selphie and Irvine walked in front of him, probably getting all mushy seeing as how they were both giggling about something. Kenan and Quistis took point. Again, they walked side by side ahead of them. Could there be something between those two? Zell pondered about this shortly, but eventually concluded this wasn't very likely. Too much of a personality clash. 

And it wasn't a secret that Kenan had liked Rinoa. 

Zell sighed to himself. One day, he really had to gather up the nerve to talk to that girl in the library. 

"So," Kenan said, casually trying to start a conversation with Quistis. "Read any good books lately?"

She smiled. "Actually, no. Not since the whole thing with Ultimecia started."

"Uh-oh." He uttered, seeing the last narrow streak of sun light fade into darkness. "I forgot to bring a flashlight."

Some seconds later, a row of light on both sides of the railway switched on. 

Chuckling, Quistis watched Kenan gasp in surprise. "I guess someone must have heard you."

The lights enabled them to look further ahead than before, but still there was no sign of the Sorceress, or of Mr. Leonhart for that matter.

"Whoo-hoo!" Zell called from behind. "Go Irvine!"

Both Quistis and Kenan turned around. Selphie and Irvine had stopped just under a lamppost and were…kissing?

Wow. They knew there could be something starting between the two, but still this came as sort of a surprise.

Actually all they could see was Irvine and his hat, which he cleverly used to cover his and Selphie's face. 

Kenan looked at his watch. "Uhm, Pineapple," He called. "How long is this gonna take?"

Irvine put his hat on again and turned to Kenan, smiling widely. "Sorry. Heat of the moment thing…you know?"

Selphie's cheeks glowed red. "Hey..what? Never seen two people kiss before?"

Quistis laughed. "Not recently."

Beaming, Irvine jogged up to Kenan as they moved on. "Stick around me and you might just learn a thing or two."

Selphie joined up with Quistis. Zell trudged behind, solo, as before.

Glancing over at Selphie and Irvine, Kenan grinned. "So, it's official now. You're in a relationship Pineapple."

-"Would you stop calling me that? It's Kinneas!" Irvine reminded him with an annoyed look. "Kinneas and Pineapple are two totally different names! How on earth did you…ah…forget it!"

Kenan threw his hands on the back of his head casually. "You know what this means though, right?"

-"Uh..w-what?" Irvine hesitantly asked.

He smirked. "Now she owns you Pine-uh, Irv. It's over. No more flirting, heck, even looking at other girls is a no-no."

Silently Irvine stared ahead of him. His face spoke volumes as it slowly dawned on him. 

"Yup. You've just given up the things you are best at." Kenan stated again. "Did you know you can't even burp anymore without being whacked or yelled at now?"

His eyes widened. "No, she can't take that away from me. I live to burp!"

-"Fraid so buddy. You aint single no more."

Quistis was about to comment on the bad English--but knew from past attempts it would fall on deaf ears. 

Irvine remained strangely silent again.

"Too bad about that Garden record attempt though," Kenan grinned. "Never seen anyone burp the entire alphabet before, I was so sure you could do it with a little more practice."

He sighed. "Thanks for the pep-talk there Commander."

Kenan rubbed his chin and looked over his shoulder. "Perhaps Zell could do it instead, he has great talent you know. Under my supervision he could become the next Raijin."

Raijin was a demi God in the world of burping, especially after some hotdogs and a rootbeer. 

-"ZELL? Oh no, that record attempt is mine, mine!" Irvine exclaimed, tapping himself on the chest.

"What was that about me?" Zell asked from a few feet behind.

Kenan supportively patted Irvine on the back. "Too bad, I doubt Selphie would allow such things." 

"You see, women don't understand the delicate art of burping like we men do. They think it's vulgar, obnoxious and the sorts. We KNOW it is."

-"And that's why we love it…" Irvine whimpered, pretending to wipe a tear away.

Casually, he looked over his shoulder at smiled at his girlfriend, Selphie. 

Wow…girlfriend. He DID like the sound of that.

"C'mon man," Irvine reasoned, eyes on the railway ahead. "It's not like she'll be around me 24/7."

-"Oh really?" Kenan smirked, knowingly. "She'll be all over ya. Wanting to know about everything little thing you do."

Irvine shivered. "You're just saying that. Ha, you're jealous man!"

He shook his head and pointed Irvine towards Zell. He appeared to be moping, walking with his hands stuck in his pockets, kicking little stones. "See him? Now THAT's a free man. He can do practically whatever he wants. You can not my friend. Your life as you knew it…"

Irvine whimpered. "It's over, all over?"

-"Hey, but good going Pineapple!" Kenan exclaimed cheerfully, loud enough for everyone to hear.

He shook his head, smiling widely again. "Kay Commander, let's drop the act already. You're jealous I got me a girl."

Throwing an arm around Irvine in a best bud kinda way, Kenan laughed out loud. "Yeah. Who knows?"

Smiling mischievously, Irvine glanced over at Quistis, then turned to Kenan. "Don't worry my good man, I can help…"

Kenan raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don't you even dare setting ME up. I don't need your help."

"Right!" Irvine responded sarcastically. "Girls are just waiting in a line for you."

He frowned and supported the back of his head with his hands. "Well, no, they're not."

"There's actually like two lines." He added with a serious look. 

-"Sure…whatever ya say Sir."

Just a few feet behind, Selphie was really beginning to get tired. She found it extremely hard to even keep her eyes open. Having Quistis walk next to her was actually quite comfortable, if she'd get too tired, Selphie would just lean against her. 

On the other hand, Quistis did have a way of boring her like every teacher is able to do to her. On the other other hand, she wasn't an Instructor anymore of course. 

Woo-hoo though! Irvine is her boyfriend! She just couldn't wait to tell all her friends at Trabia Garden. _He's so cute! Like a teddy bear, only slightly less hairy_._ Tee-hee!_

Quistis chuckled, closely observing Selphie. "Don't let it get to your head Selphie."

She beamed. "You're just jealous Quisty."

Quistis shook her head. "No, I'm happy for you. But don't think too much of it, after all, Irvine is quite a--"

Selphie's eyebrows furrowed, turning to Quistis.

"Oh..never mind." She quickly said. "But, please, don't call me Quisty."

-"AH, come ON." Selphie pouted. "It's such a cute name! What else am I gonna call you for short, Q?"

"How about just plain..Quistis? Suits everyone else." She offered with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

Selphie considered it, but couldn't see the cuteness in just her normal name. _Everyone should have a short, cute name. Like, Irvine is Irvy, Kenan is..uh..Ken? Yeah, and Zell would be... _

She shrugged. _Ah, who cares about Zell anyway? Nobody ever calls his name unless he's getting into trouble. But Quisty, oh, that was a great name!_

Quistis stared back at FH. Well, there wasn't any FH to see anymore. Perhaps they'd traveled a considerable distance already. Or, it could just be the overall darkness that prevented her from seeing the town. 

She sighed. The journey had just begun. Surely they would have to walk all night to if they couldn't catch up. Fatigue would soon set in, Zell and Selphie would really have a hard time. At least it would all be worth it. That Squall, what if he was an ally? He could help them defeat Ultimecia, and then all the troubles and hardships would be over. 

A happy ending, definitely.

------------------------------------------

"It's getting really dark, not to mention cold, we'd best get back inside now."

-"Oh, you worry too much Uncle." Ellone grinned. But she quieted down as she saw the part of the city where the battles had taken place. Even though most fires were extinguished days -if not some weeks- ago, smoke still covered up a great amount of the sky above Esthar. 

Everyone fought so bravely…all for her? So many young men had sacrificed their lives. People, whom never even met her, but were willing to pay the ultimate price. And for what? Just to make sure the Sorceress wouldn't capture her?

Her uncle threw his arm around her, comfortingly. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. "It's not because of you Ellone. They all fought for their loved ones, for freedom. They will not soon be forgotten."

A tear rolled down Ellone's cheek. "But it was all for nothing. All they did was force Ultimecia to retreat. She will back Uncle, I know it. Soon…"

"Everything is going to be fine. Trust me." Laguna told her, holding her by her shoulders, forcing her to look at his honest face. "I won't let anything happen to you."

She rested her head against his shoulder and he hugged her. Uncle Laguna…she could always trust him. Never did she doubt this, even when Sorceress Adel had captured her those many years ago. He would never let her down.

They overlooked most of Esthar from the presidential balcony. Despite the damage from the battle with the Lunatic Pandora, the city looked as beautiful and majestic as ever. It could always give Laguna a lump in his throat just by looking at it. And to think he was even President of such a city.

Ellone closed her eyes, just as a cold breeze passed by her face. 

"Is something wrong?" Laguna asked, releasing Ellone from his hug. He knew that she would only close her eyes either to sleep…or to use her powers.

-"A Sorceress is approaching." She stated, opening her eyes. "It's neither Ultimecia nor Adel."

His eyes widened. "Is she…evil?"

Ellone shook her head and walked back inside. Laguna followed, closing the balcony doors behind him.

"I can't sense any evil." She said. "But these sense are still new to me. I could be wrong."

Putting his hands in his pockets, he nervously paced back and forth in his office. "So, where is she coming from?"

Ellone shrugged. "I think the same way the SeeDs entered earlier. The rail bridge."

"Okay." Laguna said, moving to his intercom. "Kiros and Ward, please report to my office."

Giggling, Ellone walked over to her Uncle and actually pushed the 'on' button of the intercom system.

Laguna scratched the back of his head. "Err..Kiros and Ward, please report to my office."

"Great goobish goo, I'm no good with modern technology. Never even figured out how to flush the toilets here." He mumbled, smiling at his young niece.

Ellone giggled again, and switched the intercom off. "The whole Presidential Palace heard that Uncle." 

He sighed heavily. He could still make a bigger fool out of himself than anyone else could ever do for him.

The door to Laguna's office creaked open. His aid Kiros, walked in.

"What is it now," He sighed, making a playful yet sarcastic bow. "Your highness?"

Laguna beamed. "Ah, just call me Laguna will ya? And hey, how did you get here so fast?"

Kiros smiled politely towards Ellone and crossed his arms. "My office is next to yours Laguna, remember?"

"Oh. I thought that was the janitor's closet." Laguna laughed, turning to Ellone. "Kiros might looked like a neat guy, but man! Can he make a mess out of his office…"

-"Actually, that was because Ward needed to see the dentist." He explained. "I chased him all around the room before I caught the big guy. That's probably the only thing Ward really fears, seeing the dentist."

Nervously grinning, Laguna took a seat behind his desk.

Kiros leaned against the edge of it. "Oh, and you were crying buckets full when you had to go Laguna…"

-"With the way I eat, I'm bound to have a million cavities." He admitted. "But you know what the old folks say, it's better to have ten cavities in your teeth, than one in your head."

Both Ellone and Kiros stared questioningly at Laguna. "Better have ten cavities in your teeth…than one in your head?" 

"What? Is it something I said?" He asked.

The doors to the office closed. Ward walked up and told them something with just the expression on his face.

-"You're an idiot Laguna. But we wouldn't have it any other way." Kiros translated Ward's expression.

"Heeey!" Laguna pouted.

Ward chuckled, stomach bobbing up and down. 

But then his face grew serious, wondering why Laguna had called him.

Noticing the look, Laguna stopped clowning around…for now…

"Ellone just informed me that a Sorceress is heading towards us." He told his aids. "She doesn't know if the Sorceress is an evil or good one, so I want you to meet her. But be careful."

Kiros nodded. "No problem. Anything else?"

"Any news from Balamb Garden?" He asked.

-"No." Kiros replied. "But we know they're docked in Fisherman's Horizon now."

Ellone smiled. "Maybe they're bringing Tia then?"

"Isn't that the girl that freed Adel?" Laguna asked. "I didn't know she was a Sorceress."

-"Yes, that's her. She received Edea's powers." Ellone smiled sadly.

Ward looked down.

"Yeah, that's really sad." Kiros said. "But at least she's no longer under Ultimecia's control."

-"Anyhoo, get down to the entrance and see who it is." Laguna told them, standing up. He tried his best to make it sound like a request instead of an order.

Kiros and Ward walked out of his office.

Ellone gazed outside through one of the big windows in Laguna's office. She wondered what lay waiting for them just beyond the horizon. 

Whistling cheerfully, Laguna peered over at the antique clock. 

"Whoa, time flies!" He exclaimed, surprised it was already that late. 

He stretched and yawned. "I think I'll be going to bed now."

-"So will I, Uncle." Ellone said, giving Laguna a goodnight kiss.

------------------------------------------

"Uhm…Seifer…y-ya know?"

His eyes popped open. Raijin was backing up towards him, away from a purple colored fog.

Seifer stood up and halted him by taking hold of his shoulders. "Stop being such a chicken. It's only the Sorceress…"

A cold sweat drop formed on Raijin's forehead. The Sorceress was exactly the person he feared the most. Even Fujin glared nervously at the purple fog as it thickened in the middle of passenger compartment. 

Though it had gotten very dark outside and the transport lighting was dim-it was clear this was the Sorceress' doing. Seifer had seen this before in Timber.

"Fujin," He called to the other side of fog. "Are we near FH yet? It's taking forever!"

-"AFFIRMATIVE." 

He smiled. "Good."


	6. AE Chapter 6

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna-_

===========================

**Chapter 6: Plan set in motion…**

"She's here." Seifer said as he stood at attention. 

Sorceress Adel appeared on the transport and the purple-colored fog lifted. 

Raijin back away from her as far as he could, for he knew she wasn't gonna be pleased. The mission failed…and now…she would turn them all into frogs? He wouldn't be surprised if she could… 

Seifer looked aside at the bulkhead. It had sprung a few very minor leaks thanks to the exchange in bullets earlier, but nothing that couldn't be repaired. _Ugh, focus Almasy! Focus_. He shouldn't be distracted, not now of all times.

"My Knight." Adel spoke with an eerie voice. It could no doubt shatter glass if she wanted it, and strike fear in the hearts of her foes. Her appearance wasn't any less terrifying. The muscles she showed could make any body-builder jealous. Even Raijin felt scrawny. 

Fujin turned away from the Sorceress. She didn't dare even look at her, a strange feeling came over her every time she stood close by. Part of her wanted to grab her pinwheel and… 

No, that would be stupid. Adel was far stronger, even more so when Ultimecia was using Adel as a vessel. 

"Ultimecia?" Seifer asked. He couldn't be sure if this was the Sorceress he served, or simply Sorceress Adel alone.

She laughed briefly, sending a shiver down Raijin's spine, then stepped closer to Seifer.

He looked up.

Sorceress Adel examined the young man for a moment. He appeared injured, yet not bothered by this. His face…just another one of her servants that showed that face. She'd seen it countless times before. 

Her arm suddenly extended towards Seifer. He didn't react.

"Do not worry," Adel said, grabbing his cheeks with one hand. Her sharp nails dug into his skin. "You have done what I've asked. I am pleased."

She smiled, only to show her razor-like teeth. "Things are going well for us."

-"I…don't understand." Seifer said in an unusual soft tone, as he was released from her grip. The mission was to capture the girl, didn't he fail? 

"It's very simple." She looked over her shoulder at Fujin, then turned to Raijin and Seifer again. …_Simpletons_…

Seifer's eyes narrowed. "If I knew your plan, I--"

"Very well." She interrupted, sounding annoyed. "…All of our problems will soon be together in one place. That is when we will strike. Ellone and the young Sorceress will be captured, as for the rest…" 

She laughed. "You deal with the rest."

Seifer nodded obediently, beginning to understand her. "Yes, my Sorceress. It will be done." 

"There is one unexpected…problem…" Adel spoke. "A man called Squall Leonhart. A SeeD."

-"Leonhart? I don't think I have ever heard of this SeeD before." Seifer told her, smirking coldly. "But I can handle any SeeD. They don't stand a chance."

The Sorceress folded her arms. "Make no mistake, my Knight. Leonhart is not to be taken lightly. He managed to escape you once."

"What?!" Seifer exclaimed furiously. "That man is Leonhart?" The only man that ever humiliated him like that. Held down by his own gunblade! Revenge!

-"I will prepare my forces for the attack." The Sorceress spoke, raising one hand up high. A sudden bright light. As Seifer and his lackeys opened their eyes, Adel was gone. 

"Talkin' 'bout creepy, ya know?"

Grinning, Seifer shook his fist in front of him. "Leonhart…Leonhart! You're mine!"

"Now," He said, his tone of voice suddenly returned to normal. "Have we reached FH yet?"

-"NEGAT-" Fujin said, but paused. She noticed lights up ahead. A few were really up high…a tall building? She squinted. No, it was a huge crane. There was something else, beside that crane. It wasn't lit at all. 

Seifer followed Fujin's gaze. "Heh, looks like we are there after all."

"Uh..Seifer, are ya sure you wanna....go on, ya know?" Raijin uttered nervously. He didn't dare speak up against the Sorceress' Knight, but was really beginning to feel it was wrong. The Sorceress only used them. She would just as easily kill them after the SeeDs are disposed of. Fujin had agreed with Raijin on this earlier, but now they had to inform Seifer of their hesitation, cautiously. 

"It's too late for me to back up now." He responded, self-confident. "If you want to chicken out, go ahead." 

Raijin took a deep breath. "N-naw, we're with ya man. Ya know?"

"Good." Seifer smirked coldly.

------------------------------------------

Skye and Squall abruptly halted. A cat-like creature blocked their path. It's tail was swinging back and forth behind it's feral form. 

"Where did that come from?!" Skye called, panting with fear. Its blood-red eyes were locked on her.

-"Just stay calm." Squall said and threw down his backpack. "I've seen this type of creature before, it's a Torama."

Skye hid behind his back. "Are they dangerous?"

-"Yes."

"You could have lied you know…" She gasped with eyes dilated as the slender cat slowly closed in on them.

Without a sign of worry Squall took a firm grip of his gunblade. "I don't lie."

"This seems hardly seems the time to open to me." Skye nervously grinned. 

Squall locked his attention on the Torama. It shouldn't be a hard battle against just one of those, but then again a SeeD is taught to never underestimate an opponent. 

Instinctively, the Torama released a roar prior to his attack. Squall stood his ground.

Skye backed away, her breathing quickening. The way it looked at her, she knew it would go after her. 

But before the Torama could come any closer, Squall charged at it with gunblade extended. It swung its tail violently, and just barely missed Squall's arm. His gunblade sank deep into the Torama's body.

Taking no chances, Squall fired two shots and then backed up a bit. It immediately fell to the ground as he removed the gunblade from the deep cut. A final agonizing roar, and it passed away.

"Thanks." Skye said in a relieved tone of voice. That was over quickly. Now she knew she was safe with Squall around.

-"No time to waste." Squall reminded her, moving to pick up his backpack. "Let's keep going."

"Y-yeah." She mumbled. "I just hope we don't run into any more creatures." 

-"We still have a long way to go. No guarantees."

Her heartbeat and respiration were beginning returning to normal again. "I've had enough excitement for one night."

------------------------------------------

"Whoa, did you guys hear that?!" Zell yelled, running up to the front of their little formation.

-"Sounded like a roar." Irvine concluded. He took hold of Zell's shoulders and shook him around. "SCARY huh?"

"HEY! Don't do that," Zell ordered. He shivered as goosebumps covered his arms and legs. "Not funny dude."

Quistis took hold of her whip. "What do you think it is?"

"Beats me." Kenan replied. "But it sounded kinda messed up."

-"Whatever roared needs some fine tuning." Zell said in agreement with Kenan.

Irvine stepped away from Zell and stood protectively next to Selphie. "Don't you worry girlie."

She smiled. "I'm not worried dear."

"Dear?" Zell asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hehehe, dear?" 

He received a smack on the back of his head from both Selphie and Irvine. 

"Ouch. They're teaming up on me!"

Kenan sighed and held up the tracking device in front of him. Hmm, the white dot seemed closer now. They were catching up on the Sorceress. His eyes widened. 

That roar, it came from up ahead, Leonhart and the Sorceress were under attack?

"Oh no, we're gonna check it out, huh?" Zell whimpered. "And double-time it over there?"

Kenan looked surprised. "That's a good plan. Commander Dincht speaking again?"

"Hey, not bad. I like the sound of that." He smiled widely while rubbing his chin all wise-man like. 

-"C'mon already you guys!" Selphie exclaimed, starting to run. Where did she get the energy, everyone wondered. 

"You go on ahead, we'll be right there." Quistis assured her. 

With that said, Selphie bolted off, dragging Irvine along with her. Kenan felt sorry for the poor guy. How could one ever keep up with such a hyper girl?

He sighed as he watched Selphie in action. "Ah, to be young again."

-"Kenan, you are young," Quistis giggled. "Not even hit the twenty-one mark yet."

"True, but sometimes when I'm around Selphie I feel mighty old."

"Hm." She nodded. "I know exactly what you mean." 

"Yo, look what we got here." Irvine called from up ahead, pointing to a shadowy figure lying on the tracks.

Quistis gasped. Oh no! Was it Squall, or the Sorceress?

-"Is it Leonhart?" Kenan yelled back at him. Would he mind if it were?

"No," Selphie responded. "It's a beast. Aw, and it's dead."

As the three slower members of the team approached the body, it became apparent a battle must have taken place not long ago. Blood oozed from a wound on its belly.

Irvine rested the barrel of his shotgun on his shoulder and stared up ahead. "We're really close now." 

Quistis bent down next to the creature. "A Torama, killed by a blade."

"A gunblade." Kenan corrected. "You can tell by the rough overall cut, yet precise bullet impact there."

He pointed to a near perfect round hole in one of the Torama's internal organs. Blood had splattered all around.

Zell leaned against the railing of the long bridge, casually inspecting his nails. "Great! Why don't we dissect it next?

"Can it Dincht," Kenan ordered. "You could learn a thing or two from this."

-"C'mon man, it's a dead carcass!"

Selphie chuckled. "Carcasses are always dead dummy, there are no living ones."

__

Funny. Kenan thought. _I'm pretty sure Quistis is the ex-Instructor among us_.

"Truly, the Commanders is right." Quistis stated. "This tells us Squall is quite skilled. A gunblade specialist perhaps?" 

-"Well, now we know who we're up against." Irvine sighed. 

To everyone's annoyance, Zell jumped up to start pummeling the air-- although it lacked the energy he normally put into it.

Kenan looked over his shoulder at him. "Stop it. It doesn't exactly calm my nerves."

"On top of that, we're gonna run outta oxygen if you keep it up." Irvine said without looking back at the guy. "Punching the oxygen away is a definite no-no."

Zell shook his head and threw his fatigued body against the railing. He decided to just refrain from doing anything for a while..let them sort everything out. Fine, if they wanted to examine a dead cat, that's just fine. 

As if they had all the time to spare.

Quistis continued with her little biology session by studying the Torama, while Selphie and Irvine snuggled together. The temperature could drop rapidly at night.

After reaching for something in his pockets, Kenan held an object close to his ear. 

"What ya doin'?" Selphie asked slightly shivering. She was glad Irvine was there to warm her up a little.

The object appeared very small and wiry. One end…in his ear? Oh, and the other in front of his mouth; a microphone headset thingy. _Tee-hee_. Irvine wondered what other gizmos Kenan could be carrying around.

-"Balamb Garden, do you read?" Kenan called. "Is anyone there? Crud, is this thing even working?"

Trying to look as awake as ever, Irvine turned to Kenan. "Are they responding yet?"

He covered his ears with his hands and tilted his head down. "Nothing. Except for static."

"The Headmaster did tell us communications were down." Selphie reminded with a sad smile.

-"Balamb Garden, do you read?" He repeated. 

They glared at their Commander hopefully. If the Garden replied, at least they knew the repairs were going well, but from the look on Kenan's face they concluded nobody answered him.

"Oh-kay," He removed the headset. "I'll try again later. Let's move on."

Zell had to really pick himself up to get in motion again. His legs really felt like concrete by now, each step he took requiring a lot of effort. Dumb mission, he should be in his bunk now! Was this what being a SeeD was all about? Walking miles and miles in the dark? When would they actually make a move against Ultimecia? 

-"Why did you have to call now?" Quistis asked only loud enough for Kenan to hear as she joined up with him.

He looked grim but determined. "Leonhart is a threat. Persuading him to help might not be so easy with him holding a gunblade. And I'm not gonna have him endanger one of us, so--"

"I think I understand," Quistis said. "You want to know if you can take him out?"

-"That's what it boils down to, yeah."

She looked over her shoulder briefly. Irvine, Selphie and Zell were right behind, not talking at all. Poor guys, they really need a good night's rest. 

"I don't believe he is a danger to us." Quistis stated, somehow glad Kenan still could discuss things. "Squall is doing what he thinks is right, I don't blame him."

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, so why does he run from us?"

"Remember you practically imprisoned him personally." She countered. "He isn't going to let that happen again."

-"You really got this guy figured out, huh?"

Quistis ran one hand threw her hair. "Not really, I try to imagine how I would feel in his position."

Kenan's eyes narrowed. "I don't even exist according to that guy. That's the worst insult there is."

"Don't worry." She assured him in a soothing tone of voice. "I'm sure there is a logical explanation for it all."

He grumbled a bit, yet shook the matter of his mind. 

"Let's see now." He said to himself, holding out the tracking thing again. "About five X away…great, what does that really mean anyway? Miles? Kilometers? Better not be that metric system, nobody likes that." 

Quistis looked aside astonished. "You don't even know how to read it properly?"

He sighed in frustration. "Heh, not really no. It's too mathematical for my taste."

Scratching the back of his head with his free hand, he paused. "Hold on, what's this?"

"What's what?" Selphie chirped from behind.

Considering the possibility he could just be seeing things, he waited for the tracking light to blink again.

"Holy hotdogs!" He exclaimed when it bleeped. "They're coming at us!"

Everyone sprung into action, Zell already at the mere mention of hotdogs.

Quistis assumed a fighting stance. "Are you sure?"

-"Positive. Eyes and ears people!"

Kenan, Quistis and Irvine formed a three-man front line. They were spread over the bridge. Nobody would slip by unnoticed, that was for sure.

"Closing rapidly." Kenan informed them. "Pay attention now."

He held out his gun in one hand and the tracking device in the other. Carefully he applied pressure to the trigger even though nothing was in sight…yet…

Adrenaline flowed rapidly and abundantly through the SeeDs' veins. It was an effective wake-up call.

"Any second now…" Kenan said with a hint of fear in his voice. 

The rest nodded. 

…

They waited in utter silence. The nightly wind had slowly died and with it the water to their left and right had almost become still on the surface. 

Kenan glanced on the display. "Practically on top of us." 

"I don't see anything." Zell said panicky. "What is this?!"

Irvine thoroughly scanned to the left and then to right with his trained sharpshooter's eyes, seeing an endless row of lights on the sides of the railway bridge, but nothing more than that.

"W-what??" Kenan exclaimed. "It's past us!"

-"GREAT!" Zell snapped at the so-called leader. "That's just great. Either it's defective, or you're reading it wrong."

He fumbled with the device but the reading didn't change. The blinking dot was behind them, gaining distance.

"Check the Z-axis reading." Quistis suggested, remembering her math. Z always stood for height. _This just shows math is useful in the every day life._

-"Oh crap," Kenan said, following her thoughts exactly. "They're below us! In the water." 

__

I hate math! He yelled inwardly.

They rushed to the railing and peered down. A low blowing wind had picked up the waves and they just so happened to flow in the direction the blinking light moved.

"A boat?" Selphie wondered.

Zell creeped up to Kenan, wanting to see the device himself. After all he was quite the mechanic, he could figure it out. 

Noticing Zell hung over his shoulder like a monkey with a bad-attitude, Kenan handed him the tracking device.

"See Zell? I'm not reading it wrong."

"Yeah, you're not." Zell had to admit after a pause "But you probably don't understand this little symbol here."

It was a blinking tiny stave that had was crossed out by two diagonal lines. 

He grinned. "The tracking unit itself isn't receiving power anymore from the main battery, it's working on a stored energy, it won't be long before it'll run out."

"This means it has been disconnected from the main unit," He continued. "And then thrown out into to sea, apparently."

Quistis crossed her arms. "How can you be sure?"

Sighing heavily, Zell waved the view screen in front of her. "I know the Sorceress is still up ahead. I mean, she couldn't just jump on a boat like that, or in the freezing cold water. No way. Just look at this data-replay."

The screen showed a blinking light moving at about the same speed Kenan must have been moving with the device when that data was recorded. Then, the Z rating drops to below that of the sea level and the tracking unit must have been picked up in the stream. Or so Zell figured.

Irvine frowned, his hat nearly sliding of his head in the process. "The bangle has been removed?"

Zell threw up his hands. "Dunno. I'm pretty sure only Headmaster Cid or Doc. Odine himself could remove the whole bangle, but anything is possible now, I guess."

"This just keeps getting better and better." Kenan sighed, looking at his team members. "We're against a dangerous Sorceress able to use her powers and a gunblade specialist."

Zell's eyes went wide and he assumed his fighting stance. "Whoa! Seifer is around too?!"

"No," Quistis replied with a smile threatening to show on her face. "He means Squall."

-"Oh," Zell grinned sheepishly and stood down. "The spy guy."

"Well, onwards we go…" Kenan muttered as he gestured them to move out again. They paused a little too much he realized, at this rate they weren't going to apprehend the Sorceress before she reached Esthar. And who knows what could happen if she did.

He shuddered. _Edea…Ultimecia…Adel…Tia…and Skye_._ What's with Sorceresses these days?_

------------------------------------------

"What was that anyway?" Skye asked, scratching her wrist just under the bangle.

Squall sheathed his gunblade and continued walking. "It looked like some kind of battery."

-"So you still can't remove this entire bangle?" She asked, following.

"No, just that small piece." He replied matter-of-factly. "It seemed to be working independently."

She looked at her hands. "I don't feel any Sorceress power or anything. Maybe the bangle is still on."

"Could be."

He stared in the distance. Skye observed him momentarily. He didn't seem worried, just cautious, on constant alert. And so they walked for miles on end. Skye was soon bored out of her mind, but left Squall alone…for a while anyway.

Occasionally during their long journey to Esthar he would look at her to make sure she was still okay. Whenever Skye looked back at him, he turned away. 

"Is Ellone the only reason you're going to Esthar?" She suddenly asked at some point about halfway to Esthar.

He looked aside questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Well," She remarked. "Didn't you say the President of Esthar is Laguna Loire? Your…father?"

Squall moved one his hands against his forehead and sighed. He remembered telling her the complete story when they were still prisoners at Balamb Garden. So, why did he have to mention that? His father…hmph, what did he care?

"Oh come on, you must have thought of it." She reasoned. "If he is your father, then he should recognize you. He might even be the one who can explain what happened to you instead of Ellone."

He uncovered his face. "That bumbling clown? I doubt it."

She laughed. "How can you talk about your own father like that? I wouldn't…not that I remember I had one though."

"I don't consider him a father." Squall said bitterly. 

-"Are you really the cold-hearted guy you pretend to be?" She wondered, then smiled. "I don't think so."

"What are you talking about?"

She seemed glad he asked, as it she'd been waiting for an excuse to ramble. "Well remember back in FH? I suddenly started laughing and, I know this annoyed you very much, you didn't even try and hide it."

"Yeah, what about it?"

-"I was so happy, because, I knew then that you did care."

A questioning look came over him. Like a quick shadow passing over his face. 

"Oh that you did try to hide." She explained. "But I just knew when you said that it would be 'mutually beneficial' you were only rationalizing your own emotional decision, and that was great."

Squall forced his face to be a blank mask. She was starting to creep him out with her insights. 

There was a pause.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Did that startle you?"

He shook his head. "I…I dunno. But there's things I haven't really told you- about myself, my past. I was still dealing with a lot of things when it happened, when I was brought to this place."

She looked thoughtful. "Yeah, y'know. You're right, there's a lot I don't know. But what I do know is that you're not as bad as you yourself seem to believe. You're not cold Squall, not at all."

Squall frowned as he turned away from her. "Enough about me for one night, okay?"

"Alright, change of topic then. Uhmm.."

What could she talk about? Let's see now. She turned to the landscape looking for something, but there was darkness, and nothing but darkness all around. The rows of light along the Railway Bridge too seemed to be overtaken by it in the distance, as if their light was not strong enough. She felt sad. 

"Oh, look!" Skye exclaimed, pointing at something up high.

In a quick reflex, Squall reached for his gunblade. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed the blade down. "Geez Squall, relax. I meant the full moon."

"Oh I see." He said, voice thick with uninterest.

Receiving an elbow-nudge in his side, Squall nearly stumbled over. "WHAT was that for?"

"You're so dense," She told him with a smile. "Are all SeeDs like that?"

He rubbed the wound on his side. That nudge hurt, it really hurt. Strange, he never considered Skye could be quite strong. _She really is a Sorceress_. 

She covered her mouth with her hands, not wanting to show her grin. "I'm sorry, did the little miss hurt you?"

"Yes, but I might have had an old wound there." He told her. "You are strong though."

-"Why thank you." She said with Selphie-like levels of cheeriness, until concern overtook her. "What kind of strength did you mean, by the way? Human, or--"

He stopped. "Sorceress' strength. I doubt there are many other girls with strength like that at your age."

In the peaceful weeks with Rinoa, which now seemed an endless distance away, Squall had occasionally sparred with her. And he definitely noticed her greater-than-normal strength. Rinoa had joked about steroids but she was just avoiding the topic she felt most uncomfortable with. He now saw the same with Skye. 

Her mouth opened as if to speak but she was too flabbergasted to utter a single word. 

Sighing, he leaned against the railing. "Are you fatigued?"

She shook off her thoughts. "Not really, are you?"

His backpack fell to the ground, and he bent down to grab another can of rations. "Yeah. We've been walking for at least three hours. It's best you rest up a little too."

Skye nodded and sat down on the railing, next to Squall. She looked back in the direction of FH. 

"You think they're after us?"

He opened his cans and slid a few chunks in his mouth. "Probably. I didn't honestly expect to get this far. They should have caught up to us long ago, I don't get it."

"Luck must be with us." She offered. Somehow she wasn't really concerned by their pursuers anymore. They would make it to Esthar, she knew this for sure now. 

Squall chewed his food slowly. This would be the only break he would allow himself to take. His SeeD colleagues were not far behind, presumably. He heard a man's voice earlier, just after killing the Torama. It was too faint to make out who it was, but at that moment he knew for sure they were being followed. 

The last few chunks he simply swallowed whole, and he stood up.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?"

-"Not those things." She replied with a disgusted look on her face.

Squall made sure his gunblade was fully loaded with ammo and then stood ready to move out again.

"Going already?" Skye grinned, but was met by an indifferent shrug. "We haven't even been here five minutes, but sure, by all means let's keep going. Wouldn't want to be late."

He waited for her to join up with him, then continued heading east. 

"I want to reach Esthar at about sunrise." He explained, seeing her wonder why they had to go again so soon. "And, right now, we don't have the luxury of resting up." 

------------------------------------------

"Can it Dincht." Kenan ordered whilst still trying to contact Balamb Garden. He'd been trying it several times the past hours, but without luck.

"HEY!" Zell pouted, waving his fists frantically. "I didn't even say anything yet."

Irvine yawned and sat down next to Selphie. "But you were gonna, correct?" 

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. But that's not the point."

The group sat closely together under a lamppost knowing their targets could be getting closer and closer to Esthar. 

But they just had to rest up for at least a short while. Troop morale would drop to an all-time low if Kenan didn't decide to this little break. Truth was he needed it as well.

"How can they be going this fast?" Irvine wondered in disbelief. "We were really close by a while ago…but now…who knows where they are?" 

Selphie rested her head against Irvine's shoulder. "They can't go on forever. Everyone needs to rest at some point."

Quistis nodded. "Still, a Sorceress and an experienced SeeD. One could expect them to have great stamina."

Clearly annoyed, Kenan threw his headset on the ground. "Crud. Still no response."

He turned to find Zell, as there was no obnoxious reply of any sort. A snoozing sound, well, it didn't take a genius to figure this one out. Kenan looked behind him, and noticed Zell just lying in between the two train tracks. He shivered from the cold, but other than that appeared quite content. Despite his bed of gravel stones even.

"Aw, isn't he cute like this?" Selphie happily chirped. "I like him quiet."

-"So does the rest of the planet." Kenan pointed out rubbing his hands together to fight the nightly cold. It didn't help much; it still felt like his fingers could suddenly fall off at any moment.

Zell mumbled something and rolled to the other side, so as not to face the others.

Quistis smiled. "This is just like a field trip. All we need is a campfire and something to roast over it."

"Yeah, just too bad there's an evil Sorceress who wants to destroy us all by compressing time." Kenan sarcastically replied.

Selphie gave her newfound boyfriend a tight hug. "Don't worry Commander. Irvine is here!"

He beamed and tipped his hat. "Kinneas, Irvine Kinneas. At your service."

Laughing loudly Kenan gave him a thumbs-up. "We might as well head back to the Garden and let you handle it all."

"That would be nice." Quistis sighed as she dusted of her outfit. The railway clearly hadn't been used in a while and dust had settled practically everywhere along the track.

Irvine fought to keep his eyelids open. He hated the way his mouth always fell open whenever he slept. Not to mention the drool that comes with it. As his eyes fell on Kenan's outfit, he stared at it for a while. The lizardmen claw marks were abundant. 

"What was that back there anyway?" He asked him. "With our green friends in FH?"

Kenan looked down and tapped at the dark body armor he wore. "Sure glad I had this."

"But, they were so many." Irvine said. "I mean, you know, like a build-up."

Quistis nodded. "We were all there, we know. I've been thinking about that as well. Why would the Galbadians have so many units in FH?"

"And it looked like they were concealed." Kenan pointed out. "I mean the disguises, the old train station as the rally point for all those Sam things, they were waiting for something. Probably not us."

"Yeah." Selphie commented, her eyes narrowed. "A hidden Galbadian force. It was practically an army group."

Irvine looked at her. "Practically? What if that's exactly what it was?"

Nobody was very fond of that idea. 

"Any more words of wisdom Pineapple?" Kenan sighed. 

Selphie raised an eyebrow. "Why do you call him that anyway?"

He stared up at the sky briefly, trying to recall why. "Oh, I know."

"Tell us!" Selphie exclaimed suddenly fully awake with interest. "Pleeeeease?"

Kenan crossed his legs, striking the image of an old storyteller. "It's really simple, in the Centra language there is this word spelled a-n-a-n-a-s, which means pineapple. I think this seems very simple to Kinneas. That's all."

"Oh come on," Irvine pleaded. "Only the last two letters are the same."

He waged his finger. "No no. Notice both names have two N's as well, and consist of an equal syllable amount."

"Equal syllable amount?" Quistis asked. "So how is it pronounced?"

Kenan smiled and shook his head. "Never mind. It's a strange language. Hardly ever spoken anymore."

Selphie yawned. "So its true what they say…you are part Centra?"

"Yup. The first Gantt was a great Centra warrior." He replied smiling widely. "I'm just following this legacy."

Quistis brought up her knees and hugged them, hoping it would lessen the effects of the cold weather. "There is a theory stating all humans evolved out of the Centra. So everyone would be part-Centra, maybe?"

"Ooh, I know that story!" Selphie exclaimed loudly and woke Zell up momentarily. "The Centra were a great tribe, who used to live on the continent now named after them. They lived in harmony with this planet, and moved from place to place, so not to exhaust its natural resources."

-"A nomadic tribe." Quistis interrupted her.

"That's right," Selphie continued. "But there were those who had enough of this way of life, and settled down overseas. The first humans perhaps? Anyway, the balance was thrown of scale, leading to the eventual death of the remaining Centra tribe. The land around them died as well, leaving the harsh landscape we now see down south."

She looked at the Commander for his approval. He blankly stared back at her.

After a few seconds, he blinked and returned from wherever he went. "Whoa, sorry, I was zoned out for a sec there." 

"It's a great story, but that's all it is. And you left out the part with the magic, GF's, Great Hyne and Sorceress stuff."

"And not all Centra died apparently," Quistis added. "Tia and Kenan really are part-Centra. Doctor Kadowaki discovered certain differences in their genes, compared to ours. But it has been confirmed the great majority of the Centra people suddenly died long ago, for reasons unknown."

Kenan stood up abruptly and walked to the other side of the bridge. His sudden departure seemed to lower the temperature around the others.

"What's with him?" Selphie asked, keeping her voice down. Surely Kenan wasn't affected by all this talk about his ancestors? He long knew most were dead, and just simply wasn't the type to grieve a lot.

-"I'll ask." Quistis said and got up. She walked towards the Commander. He peered across the sea with elbows resting on the railing. A salty sea breeze picked up and played with his hair, but he didn't seem to mind.

Silently, she appeared next to him. He noticed her, but didn't say a thing

"Kenan?" Quistis asked in a gentle tone of voice. "Want to talk about it?"

He looked down at his boots. For a moment Quistis thought he would start to bang his head against the railing, but luckily he did no such thing. Perhaps he did want to.

She rested her hand on his shoulder. "Is it your sister?"

"I should have protected her better." He spew his innermost feelings. "Why did the Sorceress possess Tia? That's what I've been wondering for weeks now. But it's clear. Because she is part Centra. That MUST have something to do with it."

-"There is no sense blaming yourself for what happened." She assured him, soothing.

He took a few deep breaths and eventually calmed down a bit. "It's my fault the Sorceress entered our Garden. If we had countered them earlier like Leonhart claimed in his little story, maybe none of it would have happened." 

The first battle with Galbadia Garden was still a fresh memory in his mind. He remembered every detail clearly. Especially his orders to only defend, rather than take the offensive. A mistake he would regret for the rest of his life. 

Sorceress Ultimecia inside of Edea's body, she had entered Balamb Garden at one point during the fight, resulting in heavy casualties. When Kenan and his squad took her on and defeated her she needed to find a new vessel. 

Of all people she found Tia Gantt, his sister. Leonhart said that, in his version of the battle, Rinoa had been the one to receive Edea's powers. Rinoa Heartilly and not Tia Gantt. 

He hated Leonhart just for that. Making him actually think such a thing-- that maybe it would have been better that way. Rinoa instead of his sister. There's never a right way to decide between two evils…but in his mind he had, and he was torn up about it ever since.

"We should probably move on now." Quistis carefully suggested, interrupting his thoughts. "There is no sense in worrying about the past. Focus on the mission."

His head lifted up slightly. "Yeah…you're right."

"Okay, does anyone want to wake up Zell?" Quistis asked giggling. 

Kenan pulled himself together and simply buried his thoughts for the time being. "Dincht! Wake up."

Selphie gave Irvine one more tight hug and crawled up. Waking Zell was definitely a mission for her.

"Tee-hee, Zell is such a sleepy-head." She grinned as she moved next to him. 

He rubbed his eyes and looked up. He gulped as he saw Selphie hovering over him with a mischievous smile.

"WHOA! I'm up." Zell exclaimed, hastily getting on his feet. 

"Phew, didn't even get hurt this time."

She scolded him briefly then giggled gleefully. "You learn quickly."

Noticing Irvine had trouble getting in motion again as well so Kenan walked over and extended his arm. "Need a hand?"

Irvine thankfully grabbed hold of it and pulled himself up to his feet. "Thanks there buddy."

-"Don't mention it." 

Quistis crossed her arms. "Everyone ready?"

Zell's stomach churned loudly. For a second the sound of it scared even him. 

"Holy…" Irvine mumbled scanning around. "What creature was that?" 

He laughed. "Sounded dangerous."

"Yeah yeah," Zell moped. "Make fun of it why don't ya? Meanwhile I'm starving."

Kenan gestured for them to move out again. He felt sympathy for Zell; his stomach was empty too. If he had known this mission would take so long, he would have packed some supplies first. Like rations, ooh he loved those. And the way people that didn't share this love would look at him when he ate it- like he was eating dirt. Priceless. 

But now they were under way again, without anything to eat. Without much rest.

Kenan wondered what Sorceress Ultimecia was up whilst they were on this mission. For all he knew Balamb Garden could have been attacked shortly after he had left. Hmm, that would explain why he still couldn't contact them. Then again, maybe Communications was still down. Surely the Headmaster would order the repair crews to fix that first…right?

__

Ah well, no sense worrying about it. He told himself.

------------------------------------------

The two Presidential aids Kiros and Ward had gathered with a small squad of Esthar soldiers on the south entrance platform. That's where the approaching Sorceress would most likely enter. 

"Laguna didn't tell us when she would arrive, did he?" Kiros asked his buddy. They'd been waiting for at least two hours by now. Nothing had happened.

Ward shook his head. He had planted himself on a nearby supply crate. Every now and then he would play a game of Triple Triad with Kiros to kill the time, but he was hardly a challenge for an experienced player like Ward Zabac. 

The soldiers were leaning against the metal wall, talking now and again, having an okay time, a shindig almost. Normally they would complain about how boring this mission was, but considering the endless battles from not too long ago, they were quite content.

Kiros reached for his communicator. "Have you been able to contact Balamb Garden yet, Rion?"

"No Sir," The officer currently on duty replied. "I'll keep trying."

-"Any news on the Galbadians?" 

Officer Rion sifted through some papers on the panel in front of him. "I received one unconfirmed report that the Lunatic Pandora is going to move out soon. But obviously this has yet to be checked out."

-"Inform me whenever you receive any new information." Kiros said on the other end.

"Affirmative Sir." Rion replied and ended the transmission.

He sank down in his chair and threw his feet up on the Com-panel. To him this was just another boring shift. 

__

Night shifts…what great fun. He thought.

"Sir?" His lower ranking assistant called. "Here's your cup."

-"Thanks." He said joyfully. At least he wasn't running the shift alone. The part of the building where Communications is located is usually pretty much deserted at nights. Company was very welcome. 

Especially her, Eliza, the most beautiful girl officer Rion had ever seen. Duty kept him from asking her out. Plus it would be hard for an Esthar officer to show himself with a low ranking private. 

What would the other officers think of it?

She smiled and handed him the hot cup of soup. "Drink up now, y'hear?"

What kind of soup it was remained an unsolved mystery. 

"Ow. It's still hot. Just the way I like it." He said as he took the cup. At the same time he felt happy to be wearing his standard-issue gloves, otherwise he might have even burned his hand. The soup practically still boiled.

Officer Rion looked up as his assistant eyed him warily. "Anything else Eliza?"

The young girl seemed dazzled, but smirked a few seconds later. "Perhaps you could…" 

She moved her mouth closer to his ear. "**Scream for me**." 

Rion's eyes widened and he fell backwards in his chair. The hot soup spilled all over his body.

He let out a choked cry of pain as it burned through his uniform. "Aaahh! This isn't normal soup!!!"

Eliza stared at him with ice cold eyes, like a predator observing its prey.

"S-Sorceress!?" Officer Rion stammered frozen with fear and shock. He tried to crawl up but an invisible force held him down. It was too powerful for him to fight.

Her insane laughter echoed throughout the small room. "…**Lowly creature**…"

Rion moved his hands to his throat, trying to fend off a hand choking him. 

He gasped in utter astonishment. The Sorceress didn't even touch his neck. 

She stood in front of him, squeezing her hand close. The Esthar Officer fought for air, but to no avail. He felt his very life force being drained out of him by the young woman he had always loved. 

"E--li--za!" He managed to utter…moments before his death. 

The man's eyes rolled back and the struggling stopped. 

She almost forgot the reason she came because of the petty entertainment. A great streak of lighting emanated from her hands, efficiently disabling Esthar's primary Communication equipment, the heart of Esthar's early-warning system. The first step in attacking Esthar, cutting off all outside lines, had been completed easily. 

"How amusing this was. But this body's usefulness ends here." She laughed.

Sorceress Ultimecia left the girl's body and returned to her own time. Eliza regained control over her own body, only to immediately fall to the floor. Tears rolled down her cheeks. 

She knew full well what she had done. "I'm…sorry…!! I wasn't…couldn't…!"

A sudden pain hit her in the chest. She screamed in agony, but knew nobody was around to hear her. Not a minute later…her heart stopped beating. The physical and emotional pain was too much. She had always known she was a minor Sorceress, but she never told anyone. If she had, she would have never been allowed into the Army, and certainly not in such a sensitive area. She had condemned them all but would not live to see the consequences. 

Eliza had fallen next to Officer Rion, both lay on their backs with that same bewildered expression locked on their faces. In a morbid way and in the real sense of the word…they ended up as a couple, never allowed together in life but perhaps now, in death. Perhaps…


	7. AE Chapter 7

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna-_

===========================

**Chapter 7: Esthar!**

"He's probably gonna be all moody on us, you know that, right?"

-"It'll be fine…" The other Esthar soldier replied.

He knocked on the President's bedroom door loudly.

His teammate sighed. "I hope so. Cuze if we disturb his sleep all for nuthin'…oh boy…we're gonna get demoted!"

They both waited for the door to open. 

"It'll be fine," The one Esthar soldier assured the other again. "Orders were from Mr. Seagill himself. Sounded serious."

-"Yeah?" The other skeptically asked. "So what's the matter?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell. Maybe they don't want us to panic or something."

They heard footsteps on the other side. _Gulp_. The skeptical one thought, imagining the worst.

A sleepy looking President Loire opened the door. "Yes?"

"S-sir!" They saluted. 

Laguna rubbed his eyes. Those flashy Esthar uniforms always hurt his eyes in the early morning. Too many bright colors too close together. That's the last time he'd let fourth graders design their military uniforms…

"Mr. Seagill has an urgent message for you, Sir." One of the two identical looking soldiers informed.

He peered over the soldiers' shoulders. It seemed still dark outside, whatever was wrong couldn't wait till the morning.

"Thanks," Laguna said, smiling. "I'll just get dressed and head down to the Command center right away." 

With that, the door closed up again.

"See? I told you it'd be fine." 

The other grinned. "Yeah, that wasn't so bad. Our President is quite a nice guy."

The two soldiers headed towards the very heart of the Esthar military. The Command bunker. Tucked away in the middle of the President Palace, with reinforced metal walls, it was probably one of the safest places around for miles. 

Not long after they arrived there, the President followed. Dressed in his familiar blue jacket with brown pants. His favorite outfit, so they learned in time.

Everyone in the large room filled with panels, screens, and maps (not to mention an abundance of coffee) stood at attention when their President walked in. 

"At ease men." Laguna grinned nervously, as he always did when facing so many people whom stood under his command. The entire Command crew appeared to have been called to their posts. 

This was something serious. A vaguely familiar looking soldier led the President to a computer panel. A light blinked on it, confirming a transmission. 

"La..na? Ar….ou….re?" Kiros' voice called through the small speakers. There was heavy static. 

He smiled and sat down on. "Uh…I'm here. It's hard to understand you with all the interference though."

"We are experiencing trouble with all communications equipment." An officer next to Laguna reported. "The primary panels aren't functioning at all. It appears to have been intentionally damaged."

Laguna's eyes widened. "Do we know who is responsible?"

-"Not at this time Sir, but we suspect the Galbadians." The man replied, adjusting a few settings on the panel.

"An officer and a private were found dead just now." Kiros said, now perfectly audible. "On top of that, all outside communications has been cut, and even most channels within Esthar, save for the emergency ones."

Smashing his fist on down on the panel, Laguna looked down. "…Does this mean?!--"

Most men have never seen this side of their normally so cheery and friendly President. Maybe it was just an early morning mood thing they considered.

"Yes." Kiros affirmed calmy. "The last report I heard on the Galbadians was that the Lunatic Pandora would soon move out. I believe it will attack either us, or Balamb Garden. And obviously, they don't want us tracking it."

-"Send a squad to Balamb Garden right now!" Laguna immediately ordered the officer next to him. "They'll be destroyed if we don't help them. Make it two squads!"

The officer nodded and was about to walk away when something hit him. "Uh..Sir? We're low on transportation vehicles. Most of the fleet is still patrolling our shores, and transport planes aren't that abundant anymore either after the last battle with the Lunatic Pandora." 

Laguna shook his head. "This is not want I want to hear. We have to protect Balamb Garden, we failed to help them against Galbadia Garden's attack yesterday, but now we _must_ help. They don't stand a chance all by themselves."

He looked determined. "If we don't stick together, neither one of us is gonna make it."

Another Esthar officer stepped up after having heard the President's desperation. "We have the Ragnarok II and III available and standby Sir. Number one is still missing in space however."

He showed Laguna a list of squads. It contained information on the number of men on each squad, equipment, current status and other such issues of military importance. "Which squads do you want to send out to Balamb Garden Sir? I think the each plane will only have room for one squad plus equipment."

Frowning, President Loire examined the long list. He had no idea which to choose, such matters were usually decided by someone else. And for all he knew, sending them to protect Balamb Garden against the bulk of the Galbadian forces could be a suicidal mission. Then there was the fact they had little troops to spare after the losses of last time. 

Esthar couldn't be taken over by the Sorceress. Laguna was chosen as President because he protected the citizens from Sorceress Adel, but now he had to protect them from Sorceress Ultimecia and Adel combined. And this had already proven to be a very deadly combination.

"Send squads Omega and Shell." Kiros suggested over the internal Com. "Omega is a Special Forces squad, one of the few squads that's at one-hundred percent strength, and Shell is an engineer unit trained in defense. That's all we can spare."

-"You heard the man." Laguna said to the officer. "Oh, and make sure someone in one of the squads fills in the Headmaster on our current situation. Or better yet, I'll write a message explaining the situation and let them deliver it."

The officer saluted and moved to carry out the orders.

Laguna sighed and observed his men moving about panicky in the Command Center. At first sight it looked like perfect chaos, but this was in fact an organized chaos. 

It's madness, yet there's method to it. Who had said that? It might as well have been the slogan of their current war. 

When Ellone entered the Command room, she spotted her Uncle sitting in a far corner of the large room. 

"Uncle Laguna?" She called with a slightly worried tone of voice. "What's going on? I woke up to the sound of soldiers moving up and down the hallways. Are we being attacked?"

He looked up and smiled warmly. "Oh, did they wake you? Nothing to worry about, you'd best go back to bed Elly."

She took a seat next to him and stared him in the eyes. It was real sweet of him to tell her not to worry, but something was very wrong, she could tell…she could always tell. Reading him like an open book.

Laguna absently tapped his fingers against the panel on the melody of some song he remembered from his childhood. But Ellone didn't go back to her room like he told her.

"They're coming for me again, aren't they?" Ellone asked rhetorically. "…I'm a danger to everyone here."

Her Uncle placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We already talked about this. I'm not gonna let Ultimecia get you, no matter what. Besides…I think Sorceress Adel would attack Esthar anyways. She's got a score to settle with me for shooting her into space and all."

She couldn't help but smile a little. "Perhaps that's true, but I still feel--"

"Hey, hey, cheer up Elly!" Laguna told her with a wide goofy smile. "Okay, topic change. About that Sorceress coming to Esthar? When is she due to arrive?"

Ellone closed her eyes. She could feel the Sorceress's powers. It drew nearer every second, but how far away those powers were, she couldn't tell. Her ability to sense a Sorceress was brand new, or perhaps she had always had it, but never knew about it until a few nights ago. Suddenly she felt every Sorceress on the entire planet. A strange sensation, yet enlightening. Who would have known there were that many? 

Some less powerful than others, maybe not aware of their own powers even…

"I'm sorry, " Ellone apologized. "I don't know exactly. But she will be here soon."

Laguna nodded and switched on the Com. system. "Kiros, are you there?"

-"Yeah, still down here." He replied. "No news yet."

"Well, I have a feeling our Sorceress will arrive shortly." Laguna informed him. "Stay sharp."

And the transmission was ended again. If only they could contact their sources in Galbadia as easily as that, maybe then they'd know what the other side was up to. 

Truth was that Esthar, with its advanced technology that was decades ahead of the Galbadians, was effectively blindfolded by a single strike exactly where it hurt the most. And no amount of hovering sofa's, holographic images or self-cleaning toilet boils were gonna help now. The one thing they needed was the one thing generally ignored and not looked into by Esthar's scientists and technicians; bigger weapons. 

------------------------------------------

Kenan sighed. "Fine, one more time…ready?"

Zell and Irvine looked at him, all ears. 

"Kay-none." He told them.

Irvine scratched his forehead and tipped his hat up slightly. "Kay-non?"

He smiled. "That's my name. Well, not quite pronounced like that, but that's about the closest I can get in this language."

"Kay-none." Zell chuckled. "Why didn't you ever tell us that was your name?"

Behind the three men, Selphie and Quistis were chuckling gleefully.

Kenan glared over his shoulder. "Oh come on, it is a Centra name. One could at least pronounce it properly." 

"So why don't you spell it like it's pronounced?" Quistis rationally suggested.

-"Okay, one should at least pronounce AND spell it the Centra way." He corrected.

Zell rubbed his eyes. Probably for the tenth time in the last few minutes. The endless path was really starting to get to him. Five hours, that's how long he estimated the journey cost so far. Five long hours of walking on an endless deserted Rail Bridge, whoo, what great fun. Sure, he could talk to his team buddies, but everyone prefers a pillow and a warm bed to his friends from time to time. 

That time was probably six hours ago, back when they were still at Balamb Garden being briefed on the situation.

Irvine scanned around. No sun to see…yet. He knew it'd be sunrise soon now. 

Within the hour for sure. And then Esthar would become visible; or at least the cliffs around it._ I bet they have great beds in Esthar_. _High-tech and all…yeah_.

"Looks like we're not going to catch up in time." Quistis pointed out in a soft tone of voice.

Kenan sighed heavily. "I know, I know. Let's just hope Laguna has some common sense and won't just help Leonhart and the Sorceress."

-"Knowing Laguna…" Selphie reasoned. "He probably will. He helped us SeeDs, so why wouldn't he help Squall?"

A few small stones were kicked ahead. 

Quistis looked up. It was Kenan who did the kicking. "Commander?"

-"Dammit." He cursed. "Sel's right. I failed again."

Everyone looked down. Nobody quite knew what to say to that. Sure, Kenan was being too hard on himself, but there was an unmistakable truth to it. He _did_ fail before. 

"Oh come on. It's not over yet." Zell of all people said to encourage the Commander. "We'll save the day, right guys?"

Selphie jumped up with a wide smile. "No, you're wrong Zell."

He looked at her. "Uh…what? I am?"

"We're gonna save the world!" She exclaimed cheerfully with some other newly found source of energy. 

They laughed.

Some miles ahead, Sorceress Skye and the SeeD Squall Leonhart were closing in on the entrance to Esthar.

They could see the supposed salt-flats just up ahead. Thus the end of the Railway Bridge was finally in sight after a long nightly walk. 

Skye looked aside at Squall. "I don't see Esthar, are you sure it's there?"

"Yes." Squall stated. "They've just cloaked the city, as a precaution I guess." 

She smiled reassured. "Oh, okay. So we just ring the bell then?"

-"Yeah."

Her eyes narrowed. "You weren't even listening to me."

… … …

He paused as they were but a few steps away from land, real land. "I thought I heard something up ahead."

She peered over the salt-flats, paying attention to any and all sounds coming from it. "There's nothing there!"

A cold howling wind was about all she heard. Strange how that's supposed to be only a holographic projection or something…at least, that's what Squall told her. 

He gestured her to keep it down.

She skeptically crossed her arms. _Is he getting paranoid now?_

Squall looked up. "It's coming from up high somewhere. Don't you hear it?"

"Sorry to dissap--" She started then her eyes widened. "Wait a minute! I hear it!" 

The sound was only slightly louder than that of the strong wind ahead, no wonder she couldn't hear it right away. Squall must have great hearing, or maybe he has heard that sound before?

She turned to him. He stood searching the skies ahead. "What is it Squall?"

Before he could answer her, the sound doubled and suddenly echoed loudly in the salt-flat valley. Some mere seconds later, two dark shapes flew over side by side at tremendous speeds, with engines roaring. No doubt now, those were airplanes. It was too dark to clearly point out which kind, but with the blinking lights on their wings, the roaring engines, and speed with which they flew by, this was the most logical conclusion. 

Squall followed the lights for a moment. He shrugged. They were heading directly for FH; they flew almost perfectly above the Railway Bridge. Where would they go there in such hurry? Balamb Garden? 

He considered it wasn't definite they were headed for the Garden. And it wasn't really his concern right now.

"Uhm…Squall…I think you might wanna, uh, tell these guys a thing or two…" Skye uttered as she held up her hands.

As he turned around, he noticed a squad of Esthar soldiers had suddenly appeared in front of them, holding up their weapons in a threatening way. 

"Identify yourself." A soldier directly in front of Squall ordered. "And state your business here."

He sighed and threw his gunblade on the ground, to show he was now unarmed, and reached for something in his pocket. Most soldiers aimed their weapons at the young man, as if saying 'don't try anything'. 

A sense of déjà vu came over Squall. This looked very familiar…

He came up with a small card and tossed it to the apparent leader of the pack. 

"I am Squall Leonhart. SeeD from Balamb Garden."

-"Balamb Garden…eh?" The soldier with his card mumbled. "Your card checks out. But who's the girl?"

Skye looked at Squall. Seems he left the explaining to her now. "My name is Skye. I'm…a Sorceress. The Galbadians captured me, then Squall freed me. But the Odine's bangle can't be removed by anyone but Doctor Odine himself, so I'm here to see him. Squall is my escort."

The lead soldier was about to reach for his communicator, when he realized they were probably out of internal communications' range. They'd have to be in Esthar to be able to contact anyone.

Squall frowned. "Galbadians captured you? I'm your escort?" He whispered.

"Yeah well, I had to think of something. You can tell your story once we're inside." She told him reassuringly.

On command of the leader, the soldiers lowered their weapons. As ordered, they would just have to take them to Mr. Seagill. He would take care of the rest. 

With another gesture from the presumed leader, all soldiers except him went to their hiding places again. Some sort of welcoming committee, Skye pondered.

The soldier folded his hands on his back. "I'll escort you inside."

Squall moved to pick up his gunblade, and carefully sheathed it. "Okay, let's go."

-"You're the boss." She grinned and joined up with him.

They followed the soldier through the salt flats. Squall was somewhat surprised there were no creatures in sight anywhere. Last time he passed through, there were quite some battles. 

"It's not far." The soldier assured them.

Skye sighed but kept up with the two men. She was now starting to get tired, even powers of a Sorceress have their limits…apparently.

After walking some minutes the soldier stopped at the edge of a high cliff. "It's somewhere around here."

"I hope so…" Skye stated seeing a long valley up ahead, but no signs of Esthar.

She heard some strange sounds coming from her left. Kind of…electric or something? 

Squall heard it too and soon found the ladder leading to Esthar. "Here it is."

The soldier smiled. "Ah, you've been here before?" He took position beside the ladder. "Guests first." 

Squall just shook his head and climbed up the ladder. This really was the time for good manners.

------------------------------------------

They walked in and as the door closed a bell rung behind the counter. A rather hefty man appeared from a room next to the shop. Raijin counted his chins…there were about three of em….

"Bloody hell…wat ken I 'elp ye wit?" The man asked in some strange dialect of his own. 

Seifer leaned against the counter and smirked. "I want a gunblade."

The shopkeeper rubbed his eyes. "Do ye 'ave any idea wat time it is?"

"Well, do ye?" He asked impatiently as the three customers just stared at him coldly. A rather strange bunch.

Raijin nodded and stretched. "We had to get up early, ya know?"

Seifer looked around the small Weapons Shop. Not exactly much choice, but FH did have a sort of 'peaceful town' reputation. Still, he found the one he was looking for.

"I'll have that Flame Saber." He told the shopkeeper.

He groaned, but since business wasn't exactly flourishing lately, he'd help his early customers. 

"It's cheaper to collect de items needed for it yerselves." He said as he grabbed the red gunblade from his assortment. 

Fujin glared at the small clock in the shop. "NO TIME."

Seifer grinned. "Yeah, we have some…business to take care of."

The shopkeeper threw the gunblade on the counter. "Oh-kay, dat'll be…"

As he looked up from the prize-list he was sifting through, he saw the tip of the blade being held mere inches from his neck. Or one of his many chins as Raijin thought.

"SEIFER." Fujin called with a hint of annoyance and stepped up to the counter. She gave the man a few thousand gil.

The shopkeeper smiled thankfully, already forgetting about the threatening gunblade. "Dat'll do…tanks lady." 

Fujin and Raijin stepped outside. Seifer followed behind, looking down at his new gunblade. He switched it from his left-hand to his right and then back again.

The first thing a good soldier should do when he gets a new weapon is familiarize himself with it. And Seifer obviously considered himself a good soldier. But that Leonhart guy really bothered him.

__

Is it possible that he is stronger than me?! He wondered._ I am the Sorceress' Knight! Nobody can beat me!_

Fujin and Raijin nervously scanned around. Still no Balamb students anywhere, even though the Garden was docked in town. It was quite odd, but they didn't really mind. Perhaps they caused more damage then they realized? 

"Cut it out you two." Seifer ordered uncomfortable with their precautions. "They're busy with repairs. And while they do that, we take over Esthar, kill Leonhart and capture Sorceress Skye. Simple really…"

Fujin nodded. "AFFIRMATIVE."

Seifer sheathed his newly acquired gunblade and looked towards the square. 

"Let's see if they've gotten our toy back yet." He said, and pointed to the road leading up to the Rail Bridge. "If so, I know the perfect road for testing her out."

------------------------------------------

The soldier that had escorted Skye and Squall inside left to rejoin his squad.

Another group of soldiers now stood in front of the two at the city entrance. Although it looked more like a docking platform of some kind to Skye. She gasped in amazement. Sure Squall had told her a bit about Esthar, but still the sight of such a huge city appearing out of thin air was breathtaking. 

"I'm Squall Leonhart." Squall sighed. 

"From Balamb Garden." He added quickly.

Two men stepped up to him from the group of soldiers. Squall recognized them right away. Kiros and Ward.

Kiros smiled. "I'm glad to finally be able to talk to someone from Balamb Garden. We can't contact anyone on the outside anymore. Our equipment was destroyed. We were really worried about the Balamb Forces."

Ward's face politely lit up, no doubt his way of greeting since he can't use his voice.

Skye peered up at the big guy. "Hi. My name's Skye." By his looks she could tell he was no threat. 

The other guy, the thinner one, just looked at her strangely. "Are you the Sorceress we've been waiting for?" 

She looked down, embarrassed having to admit to this in front of all those soldiers. "Y-yes"

One didn't need special powers to sense their fear. 

Ward smiled and tapped his buddy Kiros on the shoulder then gestured to move to the car.

"Of course." Kiros said. He turned to the two guests. "Forgive my lack of manners. Please follow us to the Presidential Palace, we'll talk once we get there."

They followed Ward to the car and got in. 

Kiros turned to the group of soldiers that were eyeing the newly arrived Sorceress. "Return to guard duty."

"Yes Sir!"

Skye looked at the jolly big guy sitting next to her in the back of the car. "So, what's your name?"

She was so delighted to finally be able to talk to someone. Squall wasn't really the conversationalist, so she learned.

The man looked at her and smiled…but it soon faded.

-"His name is Ward. He's one of the President's aids here." Squall explained from the other side of the guy. "He lost his voice some time ago."

Ward looked aside at the young man, amazed he knew all that about him. This wasn't one of the SeeDs that had visited Esthar a while ago. 

Skye turned, but could only see Squall's head. Ward's stomach blocked most else one could see on her right side. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that." She apologized to the President's aid.

He shook his head. It was okay. Ward had experienced this sort of thing many times. People would talk to him and no matter how much he wished he could say something back…he never could.

The door to the driver's seat opened and Kiros took place behind the wheel. 

After a few seconds the car hovered up from the ground and drove off. "We'll be at the Palace in no time" He assured.

"Wow!" Skye exclaimed as the car drove over the highway. A swirling, purple colored road that ran everywhere.

Squall looked out the window briefly, but was hardly impressed. He had too much on his mind to be sightseeing.

"Uhm, excuse me Sir?" Skye called to the man on the driver's seat.

-"Call me Kiros." He grinned. "Sir makes me sound old."

__

You are old. Squall thought. 

Skye smiled. Strange how she felt so comfortable around Kiros and Ward even though she'd never met them before. They had this kind of laid-back attitude which a…certain SeeD she knew…somewhat lacked. 

She sat up straight in her seat. "Uhm, Kiros, you said you were waiting for me? How did you--?"

Squall lifted his head up in curiosity. That was a good question. How could they know?

"Well," Kiros started off but he had to focus on driving as they passed a long row of armored vehicles. The vehicles were quite large and took up most of the road. One had to drive carefully in order not to scrape any. 

Soldiers on top and alongside of the armored cars seemed to be getting ready to move; they were all geared up. 

Sighing in relief he hadn't hit any of the APCs, Kiros looked in the rear view mirror at the Sorceress. "Do you know Ellone? She is the one that informed the President a Sorceress was on her way to our city."

Ward grumbled a bit, but maintained a smile on his face.

"Don't mind him." Kiros grinned. "It's just that we've been waiting all night."

-"Well, we've been up all night too." Skye pointed out with a sudden sleepy face. "It's a long walk to Esthar…"

Ward turned to the young Sorceress with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, we've been walking all night long." She replied to his question, even though he couldn't voice it.

In front of the car and slightly to the left, Skye noticed a huge building. All roads seem to lead up there. It was probable that's where they were headed now as well.

"So, Ellone is here?" Squall asked. "In Esthar?"

Kiros nodded but kept his eyes on the road. "Ellone should be in the Palace. Hmm…I thought all SeeDs knew this…"

He looked in the rear view mirror and noticed something metallic around the young woman's wrist. "Sorceress Skye? If you don't mind me asking, isn't that a Odine bangle?"

"Please, call me Skye." She laughed. The way he said Sorceress was new to her. He didn't say it with fear, more with respect. Still she'd rather not be called that at all. 

"And yes it is." She said to answer the question. "I'm here to get it removed. Only Doctor Odine can, I think."

They neared the huge building now. Kiros slowed the car down a bit. Eventually the car stopped exactly in front of the Palace, in the middle of the road. 

Ward grinned.

"Yeah, I learned to drive from Laguna." Kiros laughed as he opened his door. "And I have his way of parking a car."

Skye remained seated till the kind Kiros opened the car door for her. She could really enjoy being treating like royalty or something. If only it was just that, royalty. 

Ward and Squall crawled out on the other side of the car.

"Shall we see Doctor Odine right now?" Kiros politely asked. "I'm sure that thing is very uncomfortable."

-"Oh, that'd be great." Skye replied and turned to Squall.

He seemed as indifferent as ever, but that was just his style. "Go ahead." He told her. "I need to speak to Ellone."

Kiros and Ward let the two guests into the palace. To Skye's amusement, they had to ride some sort of hovering couch to actually get in the building. 

Once inside they trudged down a long hallway, decorated with beautiful paintings on the walls and with a great carpet on the floor to walk on. Truly a hallway fit for a King, Skye observed. 

Up ahead, the hallway split in two.

"Odine is this way." Kiros said and gestured Ward to take the other. "Escort Mr. Leonhart to Ellone."

His big buddy made a goofy kind of salute and led Squall in down the other hall.

"See ya Squall." Skye grinned and waved him off. He didn't say a thing or even look back. 

-"Hmpf." She mumbled with hands on her hips. "Didn't even say goodbye."

Kiros shook his head and led Skye down the hall. "Just follow me please."

------------------------------------------

Selphie jumped up and down "WHOO-HOO!"

"We made it! Isn't this great guys?!"

Zell rubbed his eyes again and looked down. Dirt had started to clog around his shoes. "Yeah…great."

They made it to the Esthar continent. He would have been happier about it if he was fully awake.

-"It's nice, but that remember the mission?" Kenan asked Selphie. "Were we to reach Esthar? That aint it, I think."

Selphie stopped jumping around. "…I'm sorry Commander…"

Quistis folded her arms. "Don't be so hard on her Kenan. I think it's quite an achievement that we made it."

Irvine took of his hat and ran one hand trough his hair. "Quis is right. We left at sunset, and now we're her at sunrise."

"That's really not bad, you know?"

Everyone looked at the sun, as it rose over the horizon. The bright, almost cheery color of the sun was beautifully reflected in the clear blue ocean water. 

"…I forgot dirt could be so dirty…" Zell whimpered as he took off one shoe in a vain attempt to clean it. 

Irvine put on his hat. "Thanks for ruining the moment Zell…"

-"Huh? What moment?" 

"Come on guys." Kenan said and walked further towards the salt flats. Now that they were actually already on the land surrounding Esthar, it shouldn't be far to the City entrance anymore. 

Zell hopped one on foot behind, trying to get his shoe back on at the same time. 

"Uhm, hey guys?" He called. 

No response. 

"Wait up. Wait up for me!" He yelled then hopped after 'em. He stumbled over a rock and fell face down in a puddle of mud. Finally everyone looked back.

Irvine and Kenan were laughing so much they nearly forgot to breathe.

At first Selphie and Quistis laughed a bit too, then they felt sorry for the guy. It could have happened to anyone. There was no need to humiliate Zell.

"Here, let me help ya buddy." Selphie said and pulled him up. She looked at him. "Ew, his face turned to mud!"

Quistis giggled. "No Selphie. It's face is just completely covered with it."

-"That's kinda gross." She chirped then giggled. "You're not eating the mud, are ya Zellie??"

He managed to wipe most mud off with his hands. "No Selphie. Even I'm not that hungry…geez…"

"Aw. Cut it out!" Zell snapped, noticing the two jerks were still not finished with laughing. His face glowed red.

Kenan stopped laughing and softly hit Irvine in the chest to stop him too. "Ooof. " 

He held up his hands. "Sorry Zell. But hey I hear mud masks will do wonders for your skin."

"Still, you should have been more careful." Irvine told his unfortunate buddy.

Zell's body sagged. "Yeah…well it's hard to see where I'm going if my eyelids keep sagging. I'm dead tired."

"Don't worry," Quistis pointed out. "I'm sure Laguna will let us sleep-over."

Selphie started dancing around a bit. "Whoo-hoo! Let's make it a slumber party!"

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Selphie, that's not exactly what I meant."

"That's what ya said." Kenan laughed then stretched. "Ugh, but yeah we could all use some sleep."

Selphie, Zell and Quistis stared back at him rather strangely.

-"What did I say?" He asked, not sure what this was all about now.

"Behind you." The three SeeDs said as one. 

Kenan gulped and slowly turned around. 

A group of Esthar soldiers stood with their odd colorful looking guns aimed at his forehead.


	8. AE Chapter 8

****

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna-_

===========================

****

Chapter 8: Together…

"We're the good guys." Irvine pleaded. The soldiers seemed willing to listen. "We're SeeDs from Balamb Garden."

They lowered their guns but remained vigilant.

Kenan cleared his throat. "I'm Kenan Gantt. Commander of Balamb Garden."

"Gantt. Yes…I've heard of you." One of the soldiers in the middle of their formation spoke. "But why are you here? A SeeD from Balamb Garden just arrived and--"

-"His name wouldn't happen to be Squall Leonhart, would it?" Kenan interrupted.

The soldier frowned. "Why, yes…that's him. He went by just now, together with a Sorceress I believe."

Zell banged his fists together. "Whoa! You let them pass?!"

"Dincht, cool it." Kenan ordered and then approached the leader of the squad from Esthar.

-"Is something wrong?" He curiously asked. 

"Yes. That Sorceress you let through is dangerous, our mission is to capture her."

The others stepped up too.

"Inform the President please." Quistis suggested. "We'll handle the rest, don't worry."

-"I'm sorry," The squad leader apologized. "But our outside Com is down. I can't contact anyone in Esthar from here."

"The same thing happened to Balamb Garden!" Selphie exclaimed with wide eyes. 

Irvine shrugged. "So what does this mean?"

"It aint a coincidence, I'll tell ya that." Zell muttered. 

-"We believe the Galbadians somehow sabotaged our equipment." The squad leader sighed. "They're going to attack either us or your Garden."

Quistis shook her head in disbelief. Balamb Garden wouldn't stand a chance against the main Galbadian army. 

"What do we do?" She asked Kenan. After all, he was the commanding officer.

He narrowed his eyes and showed his teeth in frustration. "Damn, there's nothing we can do about that. Our mission is to capture Sorceress Skye. I say it's about time we completed this- then we race back."

She reluctantly agreed. "Okay. Now could somehow please show us to the entrance, we'll handle it from there."

-"Follow me."

------------------------------------------

"…Ba..am..de … o… ea.. Th…..s……ga…uad. … … … …"

Xu adjusted the settings the best she could but the message remained hardly audible and plagued by static.

The headmaster walked up to the panel and gave it a firm kick.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Sometimes that's the best way to fix things, my dear." He explained with a smile. "Now then, let me hear it."

Xu chuckled and pressed a few buttons. "I hope it works Sir."

"So do I." He said as he looked up at the sky. Something caught his eye…a small dot up high, far away.

Nida, who stood behind the Garden controls, followed the Headmaster's stare. 

"It could be a plane Sir." He said and squinted. "It's too far away to tell."

Xu turned to radio screen as it flickered to life. "Sir! Incoming message from the Esthar Airship Ragnarok II!"

"--I repeat. Balamb Garden, this is Captain Nagoya calling Balamb Garden. Do you read? Over."

Cid pressed the reply switch. "This is Headmaster Cid from Balamb Garden. Can you hear me?"

As the Headmaster released the reply switch, cheering could be heard. 

-"Loud and clear, Balamb Garden. Please report your status."

The Headmaster shrugged. "Repairs are nearly completed, Captain. Communications has just been restored." 

As Nida looked up in the sky again, two big red Airplanes flew by at low altitude with roaring engines.

"We see you. Lookin' good." The captain on the other end reported. "Please confirm the transmission of a message from President Loire. It should appear on your screen."

Xu glanced at the screen. "Yes, I think we received it Sir. A message from Laguna Loire."

Cid smiled. "Message transmission confirmed."

-"Everything is explained in the message. We'll land at the coordinates specified. Can the Garden make it there?"

"We should be able to move around again, Sir." Nida informed the Headmaster.

He frowned. "What are the coordinates Xu?"

She quickly read the message. "Somewhere on the Centra continent Sir. Zone Two?"

Cid frowned, then his face lit up as if remembering something. "Affirmative Ragnarok II, we'll meet you there."

"Roger that. We'll be waiting. Out." The captain aboard the Ragnarok II replied as it flew over Balamb Garden one more time together with the Ragnarok III and then headed to the landing zone.

Cid folded his hands on his back. "Xu, inform the repair crews from FH to finish what they're working on and leave the Garden. Nida, start up the engine."

"Sir!" Nida saluted and turned to the controls.

Xu approached the intercom, but hesitated. She looked at the Headmaster. "What about Commander Gantt?"

Cid was still reading the message from President Laguna Loire and looked up. 

"Hmm…yes. It's unfortunate he hasn't returned yet but we have to leave now. I'm sure he'll manage to get back to us as soon as his mission is completed. He is a resourceful young man."

Xu smiled sadly. She felt safer with the SeeDs around. 

"By the way, can you contact the Commander now?" Headmaster Cid asked.

-"No Sir, I tried. He's out of our current range." Xu sadly replied and glanced at the panel. "Oh no! Communications is down again Sir. There's no power to the entire console!"

Sighing, Cid took of his glasses and wiped them clean with his handkerchief. "Well, order the repair crews to leave anyway. We'll have to take care of the rest by ourselves. If we were to stay any longer, we would be endangering FH."

He put his glasses on again. "Oh, and I want our forces battle-ready as soon as possible."

Xu turned to the intercom, then smacked her head for doing so. Communications was down…again. She'd have to spread the orders some other way. She stepped on the small elevator and it descended.

Luckily, Headmaster Cid had downloaded the message from President Laguna to his personal console before the sudden power-outage, and he went down to the desk in his office to read it through again. 

He skipped the formal parts and read the core of the message again.

--------------------------

__

[…] The last report Esthar received before our blackout suggested the Lunatic Pandora would soon move out. _Despite the fact that this has not been confirmed yet, we will act accordingly_. _We believe that Balamb Garden could be in danger of immanent attack, and thus we have decided to send two squads to assist you_._ […]_

Our two Squads are at your disposal and thus will be under your command. _Omega Squad is a SF-Squad (Special Forces) fit for a wide variety of uses, even intelligence gathering and strategic planning_. _Leading this squad, will be Captain Nagoya, one of the most highly decorated officers in Esthar_. _The second is Shell Squad, led by Captain Ran Fong_. _This is a back-up unit, and therefor not experienced in real combat_. _Unfortunately these two Squads were all we could spare, since Esthar is under threat of attack as well_.

[…] 

At this time we are still desperately trying to restore Communications, but have been unsuccessful so far. _We hope this problem can be resolved soon_. _But until then, we suggest the Garden hides from the Lunatic Pandora, as a direct battle would almost certainly lead to defeat_. _Zone Two should be a sufficient hiding place for the Garden to move to -if possible-_. _We cannot give the exact coordinates of this site, as our enemy may intercept this message_._ Headmaster Cid and Commander Gantt should know of this location, but if for some reason they are not around, the Ragnarok II will guide the Garden to it_. 

__

From all of us here, good luck Balamb Garden!

__

President of Esthar, _Laguna Loire_

--------------------------

Cid sunk back in his comfortable black leather chair. He let his mind drift for a moment.

"**_I'm Squall Leonhart. I graduated here at this Garden! Why doesn't anyone know who I am?!"_**

The words the young man -claiming to be a SeeD- had uttered still rang through his mind.

**__**

"Please listen to me." 

But had he really listened to him? He should have known that the Galbadians would never come up with such a story to infiltrate the Garden. It's too ridiculous a story to have been used by them…

**__**

"Headmaster, I'm telling the truth!" 

Squall appeared sure of himself. And he knew things that only Edea and Cid could know about. The succession Squall mentioned, that really happened the way he described. A young man and dying Sorceress from the future. That's exactly what Edea talked about. 

Cid sighed and looked at the photo of his wife on his desk. If she'd had been around when Squall told his story, she probably would have known he was telling the truth right away. Perhaps even recognized _him_ as the one destined to defeat the evil future Sorceress. But Cid had told his wife to stay at the Orphanage. After she lost her powers to Tia Gantt, he told her it was too dangerous for her to stay in Balamb Garden. 

As he looked up from his desk, there she stood. Kenan's sister, now known as Sorceress Tia.

She was dressed casually, as she didn't want to stand out. But it didn't help, because she still did. It was a curse.

"Headmaster Cid?" Tia called softly. "…I was wondering if there was any news on my brother."

Cid rose to his feet and put on a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear, we haven't been able to contact him yet."

She looked up briefly, as if scanning him with her purple-colored eyes, then humbly looked down to the floor again.

"The moment I hear from him, I'll let you know." Cid assured her. 

She nodded slightly. "Thank you Sir."

-"Anytime. My office is always open." Cid replied as he walked her back to the elevator. 

------------------------------------------

"Hi ya Ward, ol' buddy ol' pal!" Laguna cheerfully exclaimed and playfully punched the big guy in his belly.

He laughed for a moment, then pointed out something behind him.

Laguna looked over the guy's shoulder. A young man with a gunblade stood in the doorway. 

"Ah, so this is one of our guests?" 

Ward held up his thumb. He usually preferred it to nodding every time the answer to a particular question was yes.

Squall stepped inside the room. He scanned around. Compared to some other rooms he'd seen, this one wasn't all that big. It had a few couches, an expensive looking rug in the middle, some panels on the wall and a painting of a town square. Winhill, so Squall guessed. 

Large windows on the opposite side of the door let in the rays of the rising sun.

There were two guards; one to the left, the other to right. Then there were Laguna and Ward. But behind the President someone sat on the one of the couches. Squall could see a shadow cast on the rug.

"So, I take it you're Squall Leonhart?" Laguna asked. "Heh, cuze I doubt the name Skye would really fit you." 

A bewildered face stared back at him. 

Laguna scratched the back of his head. "Uh…that was...just a joke… never mind…"

__

So he doesn't know me either. Squall thought to himself. _Or is that clown just joking around…?_

Ward gestured something to Laguna and left the room. 

From behind Laguna, a girl stood up and walked up next to him.

"Ellone!" Squall shouted. He didn't realize he was that happy to see her up until now. 

-"Ah, you've met?" Laguna wondered. "Heh heh, I didn't know you had a boyfriend Elly."

Ellone blushed a little and folded her hands on her lap. "No Uncle, I don't know--"

"…You don't know who I am…" Squall uttered, suddenly feeling like he weighed at least a ton.

He frowned. _Even Ellone? …Sis??… What happened to me out there!?_

Laguna raised an eyebrow at the guy. "Uh, you okay? You look kinda pale, why don't you sit down for a minute?"

Squall agreed and moved to the couch. Ellone didn't let him out of her sight as he walked past her. 

"Should I know you?" She curiously asked as soon as Squall sat down. 

-"Yes." Squall stated as he rubbed his temples. "…It's a long story."

He looked up. Both Ellone and Laguna gave him their complete and undivided attention.

"Well, you're a SeeD from Balamb Garden right?" Laguna questioned. "So what are you doing here?" 

-"I came her to see Ellone." Squall answered. "I hoped that she would have some answers…"

"To what question?" Ellone asked and sat down next to the man. She had sensed something strange about him the minute he walked in, but she couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong.

With his hands in his pockets, Laguna sat down on the other couch, facing Squall.

"It will take too long to explain everything now." He started. "But yesterday something happened to me, out in the fields near Balamb, and everything changed after that. Events in the past had been altered, people didn't know me anymore and worst of all, Sorceress Ultimecia was alive again. Whatever happened, it felt similar to the time-compression I endured a few weeks ago."

Laguna stared at Squall with eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. "You're saying Ultimecia is supposed to be dead?!"

Ellone looked worried. "...Time-compression…" She knew that was what the Sorceress was trying to achieve. This man endured that? Could that be why he felt, different, somehow…?

"Yes. Together with a team of SeeDs, I defeated Sorceress Ultimecia." Squall affirmed solemnly.

-"Wow…really?" Laguna uttered. His eyebrows came together in confusion.

"Yes." Squall repeated with confidence. "With help from Ellone, Sorceress Ultimecia had been defeated. It couldn't be done without her. That I'm sure of."

"…I helped?" Ellone asked whilst she desperately tried to figure out whether he was lying or not. 

Squall nodded. "You sent the Sorceress back in the past with your special powers, and then the time-compression began. But our team of SeeDs used this to travel to the future, the time period in which Ultimecia lived…"

Laguna stood up from the couch. To him, this tale was too amazing to listen to, sitting. "And you defeated her there?"

"Yes." Squall said again, wondering why Laguna needed so much confirmation. "This happened about 3 weeks ago."

He looked aside. Ellone was completely dazzled, she didn't know what to say to such a thing.

"Somehow," Squall continued. "Things have been altered. Some other guy graduated to become a SeeD instead of me. The outcome of battles in the past have changed…for the worse…definitely."

-"You think this has something to do with time-compression?" Ellone asked, catching on quickly. "…With me?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose I didn't know where else to turn…"

Laguna gasped. "Gee…that's really quite a…" 

-"Unbelievable story. I know." Squall sighed. "I know it sounds too strange to be true, but it is true. It happened."

"Could you get Kiros up here, please?" Laguna kindly ordered the two guards then turned back to Squall. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, don't worry." 

As the guards were just about to jolt off, Kiros and Sorceress Skye came round the corner.

"In here Sir." The guards said and were surprised Kiros told them they were relieved of duty for now. Having guards in the room was no way to welcome two guests Kiros thought.

Laguna chuckled as his buddy stepped in. "Whoa, you're fast!"

He crossed his arms. "I was already on my way here."

-"Oh. Well, great timing!"

Skye entered the room too. There was no bangle around her wrist anymore. "Hi everyone."

"Hello there," Laguna greeted and shook her hand. "I'm Laguna Loire, the -ahem- President of Esthar."

-"He still likes to boast about it after all those years." Kiros explained.

Skye shook Ellone's hand too, then plopped down next to Squall. 

"So, what's up with you? Doctor Odine removed my bangle, see?" 

She held out her hands to clearly displayed there wasn't a bangle on her anymore, even though Squall had immediately noticed it as she walked in.

"Now," Laguna said as he calmy sat down on the other couch again and motioned Kiros to do the same. "Could you please tell your story one more time Mr. Leonhart?"

Kiros didn't have a clue what was going on, but quietly listened to Squall as he started talking.

------------------------------------------

"Wow." Laguna exclaimed, impressed by the great tale. 

The fact that Squall could have been lying hardly even occurred to him.

-"So you think forces from Balamb Garden are after you?" Kiros asked.

Skye raised her hand. "Not just him, me too."

Laguna looked at Ellone and she noticed it.

"I can't see why they would think Skye is a dangerous Sorceress, Uncle." She told him. "…I don't think she is."

Squall continued to frown. "I don't think she is either."

Kiros grinned in disbelief. "You two are in quite an odd situation…"

"Tell me about it." Skye sighed heavily, letting her body sag.

Laguna exchanged looks with Kiros. "What do you think?"

He stood up. "I think our guest must be tired after such a long walk. Let's handle this after they get some rest."

After pulling herself up from the couch, Skye felt like she could just hug that man. He was the first to not suggest imprisonment and for that got her admiration.

"Thanks." She said. 

-"I'm sure I can find you rooms." Kiros told their two guests. "There are so many here, Laguna frequently gets lost."

"Uh-oh!" Laguna cried out as he quickly reached for his left leg. "Leg cramp!"

Ellone, Kiros and Skye laughed. Squall was already walking to the hallway.

"Don't move!" A man in the doorway ordered forcefully.

-"I wouldn't if I could." Laguna laughed, but as he looked up he knew it was something serious.

Irvine, Zell and Selphie rushed in, Kenan and Quistis covered the doorway, making sure Skye wouldn't escape.

"Mr. President." Quistis said, while Irvine held both Squall and Skye at gunpoint. "That Sorceress is dangerous, we're here to capture her. Please leave the room."

Zell held up his fist like they were as deadly a weapon as Irvine's shotgun.

Squall backed up a bit. He made no move to reach for his gunblade…yet.

-"What? No, I will not." Laguna replied. "I don't believe she is dangerous."

His leg cramp was suddenly subdued with all the excitement and he stepped in Irvine's line of fire.

"Sir!" Kenan called. "Get out of the way! Our mission--"

He stopped as he noticed the bangle around the Sorceress' wrist had already been removed. "Idiot! What have you--"

"Shuddap!" Laguna snapped. Even Kiros had never seen him like that. "You're in Esthar now, kid. Lower your guns and we'll talk about it, but don't expect you can just barge in here like that!"

Selphie felt ashamed for assuming an aggressive posture, and she was the first to stand down.

Quistis and Irvine soon followed.

Zell still held up his fist but they were shaky. "Commander?" He called with his eyes locked on the Sorceress.

Kenan's eyes narrowed, but the President just stared back at him with a furious look. "All right, FINE."

"We'll talk." He said and Zell lowered his fists.

-"Sorry Sir, but--" Selphie humbly apologized.

Laguna smiled and his fury seemed gone in an instance. "It's okay, you guys were only following orders. You thought we might be in some kinda danger, but as you see, we're not."

Everyone looked at Squall and Skye.

"I--I'm not a dangerous Sorceress…" Skye started to plead. "Why does this have to happen to me? I'm just a normal girl, I don't know what's going on anymore…" 

Ellone walked over and comfortingly threw an arm around her.

Quistis and Selphie looked at one another. A feeling of remorse engulfed both of them, but especially Selphie. They'd mindlessly hunted an innocent girl? That was horrible to think of.

Kenan still warily eyed the two 'targets' they were sent after. "Listen, the President is right. We're following orders. According to Headmaster Cid this girl is a serious threat."

-"I see…" Laguna mumbled as he processed the information. "And Mr. Leonhart?" 

"And Squall helped her escape," Quistis explained. "But our orders are to escort him back to the Garden. The Headmaster wants to talk to him. He is willing to listen now."

Ellone looked at the five SeeDs in front of her. "I believe Squall is telling the truth, even though I don't know him. And I know Skye isn't an evil Sorceress like Adel or Ultimecia…I can sense that she is different."

-"That's all fine, but what _we_ believe is irrelevant." Kenan remarked. "Soldiers shouldn't disobey orders."

"Soldiers shouldn't be drones either," Laguna pointed out. "They need to think for themselves. Assess the situation." 

Zell's eyelids started sagging again. He wished people could just skip the boring talk and get right to the point. Could they, or could they not, capture the Sorceress and take her back to Garden?

"I can understand that you have your orders, but I'm not surrendering to you." Squall told the so-called Commander.

-"Seems we're stuck." Irvine reasoned.

Kiros pondered. "I don't think so. Everyone is on the same side here."

Selphie's face lit up. "H-ey, yeah. We're all up against Sorceress Ultimecia."

They all nodded. That was a good point Kiros raised. 

"Tell ya what, we'll let you ESCORT Skye and Squall back to Balamb Garden," Laguna offered. "But only if you'll agree to a uh…whatchamacallit…non-aggression…err..thingy."

Everyone looked kinda funny at him.

"Oh come on, you guys know what I mean." He blabbered. "Just don't throw Miss Skye in prison immediately, that's no way to treat a young lady. And you might be wise to investigate Squall's claim- however strange it sounds."

Kenan rubbed his chin the way he always did when heavily pondering. "…Seems we have no choice but to accept."

"Quistis?" He asked.

-"I agree."

"Pine--uh, Irvine?"

-"Hey whatever you say."

"Selphie?"

-"Yeah! Let's not fight amongst ourselves and blow Ultimecia to smithereens!"

"Dare I ask? …Zell?"

-"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I totally agree to the plan."

Laguna grinned. "Okay, seems it's democratically approved." 

Skye at last smiled again. "Thank you everyone."

It gave Selphie and Quistis a good feeling, knowing this would be the right way to approach it. Not with force…

Squall didn't want to thank anyone, yet was glad not to be considered an outlaw anymore.

…

"So, when was the last time you guys were here?" Laguna asked trying to break the tension that still hung in the room like a foul stench. 

Selphie smiled widely. "It's been a while. Nice to see ya again, Sir Laguna. Tee-hee!" 

Not long after this, the whole group sat down in the cozy guestroom.

Finally everyone loosened up and they even got acquainted with Skye. Zell noticed she really wasn't the dangerous Sorceress Headmaster Cid led him to believe. She was actually just a nice girl. 

And Skye really enjoyed the company. These people were really friendly to her, despite everything they were told.

Only Kenan still wasn't fully convinced and didn't let his guard down for a second. 

-"So you can't remember anything?" Quistis asked.

Skye tried her best to come up with something. A name, an image, a certain smell, anything! …Nothing came to mind.

"No, nothing." She sadly affirmed. "…Even didn't know I was a Sorceress until Squall pointed it out to me."

Ellone looked at her and felt real sympathy. "That's awful, isn't it Uncle?"

Explaining the advanced rules of Triple Triad to someone and having to listen to a conversation at the same time was one of those things Laguna shouldn't do. 

"Uh…Yes, that's right dear." He assured Ellone, then turned his mind back to explaining Irvine how to play a really good game of Triple Triad. Of course, his mind was totally blank thanks to the distraction.

Irvine looked up from the deck of cards on the small table. "Your move Sir. Show me what made you world champ at this. I gotta get better at this game…grr.."

-"World Champion?" Kiros wondered if he had heard it correctly. "Laguna a World Champion with Triple Triad?"

It appeared likely for him to burst into laughter any second now…

"You never won anything in your life Laguna, what are talking about?"

Irvine suddenly felt betrayed. Whoa, He wasn't a pro at it? Dang!

Selphie just had to butt in at this point of course. "H-ey, Sir Laguna isn't a liar!"

-"Heh heh. Thanks Selphie." He smiled and placed his next card. His very special card. With his own face on it.

Irvine gestured for a time-out. He was losing but that wasn't the point. 

Selphie chuckled. "There are no time outs in Triple Triad, silly!"

"Anyway!" He started. "Are you joking with me or not? You really a world champ?"

Laguna started frantically scratching his left leg. _Oh no! A cramp? Not now! Aah!_

"Well?" Irvine asked impatiently.

There was no escape for him this time, he had to tell the truth. The whole truth, mind you, because Laguna didn't lie. He could be untruthful, say stuff that was only half-true, say stuff that was really idiotic, but he didn't lie.

-"Uh…I…err…had this really nice dream, in which I..uh..won the World Championship Triple Triad."

Irvine looked at Laguna wide-eyed. Selphie almost rolled off the couch laughing. "Just a dream?"

"Yup. I can still picture the last round." He stated cheerfully, somehow proud he won something even though it was just a dream. "I used this amazing strategy, but I..uh…forgot how it went exactly. I've been trying to rediscover it ever since. But oh boy, when I do, it's gonna reap havoc."

A fed-up, grumpy and most of all tired, Irvine threw down his cards. "Fine, you win. I haven't learned a thing!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Zell…Quistis…I gotta beat 'em one day! I lost nearly all my cards to those two!"

"Speaking of Zell…" Selphie whispered and pointed to her left. Zell sat snoring as loud as an airplane engine, leaning against Kenan's shoulder. Lucky for him, the Commander didn't really mind it that much, as long as he wouldn't drool on him or anything.

They laughed, too loud it appeared as Zell woke up with a fright. 

"Uh, where I am?" He mumbled with eyes half-opened.

Skye feigned hurt, since Zell had fallen asleep listening to her talk. "Am I that boring?"

He threw up his hands. "No ma'am! I just..uh..fell asleep momentarily."

Selphie got the feeling someone was missing and scanned around whilst the rest continued talking to one and other.

She found Squall leaning against the wall, close to the big windows. He was staring out over Esthar.

"Hey ya!" Selphie chirped as she approached the dark haired mystery guy. "Hee-hee, are you hiding from the rest or somethin'? Seems like it."

Squall shrugged. "It's just weird seeing people that used to know me, and now…"

"Then tell me something about yourself!" Selphie offered. "So I can get to know you."

He didn't reply.

-"He's not one to talk a lot." Skye explained from her comfy position in the middle of the couch. "But he's a great listener." She had been watching Squall the whole time, in a looking-out-for-someone kinda way. Sort of like a big sister. Well, he didn't need any sister. 

Squall stared up at the ceiling for a moment. It was white with a gold pattern across it. Priceless no doubt.

"What can you tell me about Rinoa?" Was the question he came up with eventually. 

Selphie thought deeply. "I haven't seen her since we dropped her off in Timber. I hope she's doing okay. Kenan agreed that we should all visit her some day…when everything is over…"

She leaned against the wall, right next to the guy. "Great view of the room from here, huh?"

-"…I suppose…"

She giggled. "Okay, if you're not gonna talk about yourself, I'll just talk about me."

"Don't bother. I already know you." Squall told her, taking a sip of the drink Kiros offered everyone earlier. It tasted horrid. But the fact was he arrived in Esthar practically dehydrated. Any drink would be gladly accepted.

She tilted her head with interest. "Really? Hee-hee, then tell me what you know."

-"I don't really see the point of that."

"C'mon Mr. Leonhart," She edged. "Pleeease?"

He sighed. "For starters, you called me Squall, not Mr. Leonhart."

Selphie grinned sheepishly. "Okay! Squall it is. Tell me more."

"Well, you're Selphie Tillmit, transferred to Balamb Garden from Trabia Garden. You participated in the Dollet mission, you were in Squad A, I think. You bumped into my squad to deliver a message and--"

-"Boring!" Selphie exclaimed. Everyone stopped talking and turned around. 

Irvine raised an eyebrow. "You okay sweetie-pie?"

"Yeah, it's nothing." She said and with that everyone turned back again and continued wherever they left off.

She nudged Squall with her elbow. "I didn't mean you should start telling the complete history…I just wondered what you thought of me. I don't care about the dry, boring facts!"

He took another sip. "You're really…active. Or hyper might be the better word for it…"

Zell roared with laughter, having secretly listened to their conversation with one ear. 

Worried that he might choke, Quistis slapped him on the back once or twice. "Breathe in. Breathe in Zell!"

Selphie didn't pay much attention to Zell and pressed Squall to say some more.

He quickly drank all there was left in his glass, giving him a valid reason to not reply immediately.

She nudged him again. "Yeah, everyone can tell I'm a bit a hyper, that doesn't mean you know me."

"You're always one to look on the bright side." Squall stated under pressure. "Not that you weren't sad at times, but you were always the one to try to cheer people up…"

__

Rinoa was like that too. He thought to himself.

"Now we're getting somewhere." She told him, hinting him to continue at the same time.

He shrugged. "You proved yourself a capable leader at the Galbadian Missile Base. A good SeeD too."

"Thanks!" Selphie exclaimed and smiled widely.

Squall looked down. "I don't think I've ever told you that…the other you I mean…"

She giggled. "It's kinda confusing to think about it, huh? This must be very confusing to you."

-"Yeah, to say the least." He nodded.

Selphie looked across the room. Everyone seemed to be talking in pairs now. Kenan was no doubt discussing important issues with Mr. Kiros. Then there was Sir Laguna having a fascinating conversation with Quistis, Irvine joining in every now and then, but mostly he was just goofing around with Zell. And Skye seemed to really enjoy talking to Ellone.

"So Squall, what do think of…uhm…Zell?"

-"Loud and obnoxious most of the time." He replied with a straight face.

Selphie giggled again. "Okay…and..uh what about Quistis?"

-"I think she tends to push herself too hard."

"And what about Kenan?"

Squall looked aside. "I've never met him before. Whoever he is, he didn't graduate to become a SeeD in my past."

She blinked. Oh yeah, that was right. Wow, she found that weird to think of. If Kenan weren't around, who'd lead the squad? Quistis might be the most likely candidate, she considered.

Selphie extended her arm and managed to swipe Irvine's hat. "And what about Irvy?"

"I guess he's okay. A bit of a jock…but a reliable SeeD." Squall answered. Perhaps this was the first time he really had to think about all his squad members in this manner. Normally he wouldn't be the one to give out compliments, but the fact that they had defeated Sorceress Ultimecia together meant they were good soldiers, every one of them. Why hadn't Squall realized this before? Or stopped to even think about it?

Irvine noticed those two were talking about him and jumped up from the couch, walked over to Selphie, and quickly stole his hat back. He couldn't be seen without it; it would ruin his image.

Selphie playfully sobbed for a moment, then she realized he wasn't gonna give her the hat back, so she just planted a kiss on his cheek. For no reason other than the fact his cheek got the way of her lips…yeah…that was it.

Skye noticed it and clapped her hands in glee. "Hey, I didn't know you guys were a couple."

"We are," Selphie affirmed. "Tee-hee, since last night anyway."

-"That's great!" Skye exclaimed.

As Kiros looked at the time on his watch, he slowly got up from the couch. "I hate to break this off, but I'm afraid the President and myself have business to attend to."

Laguna jumped up. "Oh yeah, I forgot all about that! Great goobish goo!"

Yawning heavily, Zell crawled up from the couch, leaving behind an imprint of his butt in the fabric. Nifty!

"Ah yes, I'll show you all to your rooms first." Kiros grinned. "Shall we wake you in time for supper? I'm sure you're all very tired from walking those many miles…"

Irvine and Zell exchanged looks. "Sounds good to me." They both replied.

-"One thing though," Kenan remarked from the doorway. Nobody had even seen him get up…he was fast. "It's all great we have this pact with Mr. Leonhart and the Sorceress, but who knows what they'll pull off once we're asleep?"

Skye felt hurt. She knew the trust in her being a good Sorceress came real sudden. She knew they couldn't just stop fearing her in a split-second. Trust is something that has to be earned. She knew all that, yet it hurt.

As always Squall couldn't really care either way. Although, as a SeeD Commander, he could see Kenan's point.

Quistis approached Kenan. "I'm sure it'll be okay. Besides, where would they go? Esthar soldiers are everywhere."

Kiros talked it over with Laguna and eventually came up with a solution.

"What about putting Zell, Irvine and Commander Gantt together in a room with Mr. Leonhart, and the girls in the other? You could even lock the room if you really think that's necessary." Kiros offered. 

In a state of being half-asleep, Zell only heard the word room. Room…bed. Bed good. Sleep in bed. Sleep good!

Kenan run his hand threw his hair. "Yeah, okay. I can live with that."

Quistis smiled politely. "It's a good suggestion. I don't think we'll lock the room though."

"I'm okay with everything right about now," Irvine pointed out. "I just wanna get some shut-eye."

Kiros walked into the hallway. "This way please."

Before leaving, they had to say goodbye to Laguna of course. After all he IS the President of Esthar. 

-"See ya later, Sir Laguna, tee-hee!"

-"Good day Mr. President. Nice talking to you."

-"Catch ya later."

-"Say, you wouldn't have any hotdogs for supper, would ya? Ah well, later."

-"Wake me if you can contact Balamb Garden. And do you think you could place some guards outside, just in case?" 

-"… … …"

-"Bubbye now Laguna." Skye called and gave him half a hug, it having too little energy in it to call it a normal one.

After that Ellone was said goodbye to, and finally they were on their way to a nice, warm, well-deserved beds. Just what they had all been longing for. 

Of course it was early in the morning in reality, but nobody cared. Only one time existed. Time for a long nap.

------------------------------------------

Seifer's posse had reached the square in front of the old train station, the scene of mass Sam08G murder. It seemed like a hurricane had swept by…or perhaps a Tsunami. Hmm.

A few human G-soldiers had managed to crawl out of the water, but most of their green allies were swimming with the fishes. It was a dark day for lizard-kind. 

Seifer smirked. He could use this to provoke the remaining Sam08G force that was traveling with the main army inside the Lunatic Pandora. The matter at hand however was the recovery of the Iron Clad, and it had taken considerable time to repair one of the mini cranes and continue the salvaging operation. 

Raijin and Fujin had long since become tired standing around and waiting. Fujin was throwing her pinwheel about and Raijin was arm wrestling with the sole Sam08G survivor- the beast was immediately promoted to Private Second Class. Basically that meant it outranked only two men in the Galbadian Army; Biggs and Wedge. 

Seifer threw his buddies an annoyed look. "Stop messing around. Just be patient."

"It's cold y'know? And I'm hungry. My belly hurts…ya know?" Raijin nagged and so lost his concentration.

The Sam08G slammed his arm down on the table and roared in victory. 

"Aw, I lost." Raijin whimpered. 

Fujin stopped showing off her pinwheel in front of the two guys. It's just that she hadn't used it in a while. She had hardly lifted a finger in the battle with Balamb Garden. The Galbadian soldiers did all the fighting. FOOLS. Let them die for the Sorceress if they want, but not her, no way.

-"Any minute now…" Seifer muttered under his breath. He looked around town. Not a soul in sight, excellent. There shouldn't be a problem then. Not that they wouldn't be noticed anyway, but the longer it took the enemy from knowing what was on the way, the better. In war, the element of surprise is very valuable.

… 

"FH is a nice town, huh you guys?" Raijin said to break the silence. He'd really thought about it.

Fujin questioningly stared at him. Strange how she'd never expected Raijin to say something like that.

-"…I suppose…" Seifer answered with his arms folded over his chest. "…Great place to fish too."

For a minute, Fujin considered the guys' minds had been taken over by evil space aliens that made them say stuff like that.

"FISH?" 

A kick to Raijin's shine wouldn't even help to clear his mind from this idiotic idea, so she didn't bother.

-"Yeah!" Raijin exclaimed, suddenly seeing in all clearly in front of him. "Think 'bout it. Us living in FH. No Sorceress, Garden or anythin'. We could fish all day y'know?"

"UNLIKELY."

He looked down. "Well, whadda you think Seifer?"

-"…Who knows? I can't be the Sorceress' Knight forever. I'll have to retire one day…"

Raijin laughed. "We'll become the best fishermen around ya know!" 

"FOOLS." Fujin called loudly.

------------------------------------------

"Here we go." Nida informed and pushed forward the rudder. The whole Garden shook and slowly picked up speed.

He had to be careful not to hit anything on the way out of FH. Luckily it didn't take long to reach the open seas.

Nida turned to the Headmaster. "The heading, Sir?'

-"Oh yes, yes." He uttered, momentarily confused. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any attention. The heading is…"

Headmaster Cid saw Xu standing at the Com. panel just out if the corner of his eye. The fewer people that knew exactly the location of Zone Two, the better. It had to remain a closely guarded secret to be an effective hiding place.

He straightened his vest. "Just head for the Centra Continent. I'll give you further instruction once we're closer to it."

Nida saluted. "Yes Sir!"

The Headmaster smiled. Things were starting to pick up. Once they'd reach their hiding place they could finally come up with an attack plan; a preemptive strike. Maybe the situation wasn't as hopeless as he thought.

Xu's eyes widened, as the display screen colored red right in front of her. "Sir! Another system failure!"

"What??"

Cid hurried to the panel Xu stood at it. Error messages and warnings filled up the system status screen. Never before had Headmaster Cid experienced something like this. "I thought the crews had repaired most damage!"

In sheer panic, Xu randomly hit buttons on the panel. Some of which she'd never used before.

-"Nothing Sir!" She needlessly informed him. He could very well see it wasn't working.

Nida started to panic as well, but there wasn't a thing he could do. He had to stay behind the rudder.

Xu read the error messages. "Power to the elevators is dropping again! It's being drained!"

"Drained you say? What is doing this?" Cid demanded to know.

-"I'm sorry Sir, I don't have a clue!" Xu replied with a voice of concern.

The Headmaster was startled for a few seconds. "Inform our repair crew, quickly, before the elevators stop again!"

She ran off, without saluting even, meaning there was no time to spare.

If the power drain became anymore severe they would stop hovering; and without the lift of the anti-grav ring Cid was unsure if Balamb Garden would be able to remain afloat.

This certainly wasn't the time to find out if Balamb Garden also had a sub marine mode. 


	9. AE Chapter 9

**Angelus Errare**

Written by _-Laguna-_

**Note**: Sorry guys I'm getting behind on my editing work. However those who are asking for more of this shouldn't worry—theres a lot more chapters already written and gathering digital dust. They only need to be re-edited and then they can go up. But thats quite a monstrous task..given the sheer size of the story. So I can't go into to WHEN, if you get my meaning. 

===========================

**Chapter 9: ****Sleeeeep!!**

The doors screeched open. Irvine could practically hear angels singing hallelujah. Finally, after who knows how long, beds to sleep in! He would do a little victory dance, yet obviously lacked the energy.

Kenan thanked Kiros and closed the doors behind him, making sure he'd locked them up good. 

Squall immediately felt uncomfortable amongst the guys. Out of his place…the odd man out…something like that.

"Uhm…Kenan?" Irvine called, counting the beds again. The rest of the room was of no importance, so he paid little attention to it. In an instance he did notice it was a lot shabbier than any room he'd seen in Esthar. It looked like a tiny barrack, with just the gray bunks soldiers were so accustomed to. 

Kenan turned to his buddy Irvine showing little interest. "Yeah, what is it?"

"We have a problem." He said, laughing inwardly. The bunks were fine, he could tell. So how come there were only three beds, while there were four of them? He shuddered at the thought of sharing a bed. 

Not a chance in hell he'd agree to that.

Kenan, however, still hadn't a clue what Irvine was talking about. "What's wrong?"

"Only three beds." Squall sighed as he threw down his backpack and gunblade. "And four of us."

Very much zombie-like, Zell shuffled his way to the middle bunk and fell into the pillow face down. He was already asleep before he even made contact with it. 

Irvine moaned. "…And so there were only two left."

Kenan crossed his arms and leaned against the closed doors. "It doesn't really matter. One of us should stand watch anyway. I'll take the first shift."

"Roger that." Irvine mumbled and climbed in the left bed. He didn't bother taking off his hat -or anything else for that matter- and soon slept like a baby too.

-"Remember, I'm watching." Kenan gladly reminded Squall. "Don't do anything stupid."

Squall shook his head and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Whether you believe it or not, I'm a SeeD."

Kenan sat himself down on the floor. "I don't. I'm not as gullible as the rest."

The guy was up for some verbal fencing. He grabbed his handgun and rested it against his shoulder, glaring at Squall in a threatening way. Maybe even more than verbal?

"…Why did Headmaster Cid promote you to Commander?" Squall wondered. It was one of the things he thought about during the long journey to Esthar. He couldn't sleep immediately anyway, why not ask that guy now?

-"Dunno." Kenan replied. He was more surprised than anger by this blunt question. 

"I don't understand why he would make you Commander either, IF what you told us is all true."

Squall thought about it. "I know why. He knew I'd be the one that would defeat Ultimecia."

Kenan was about to laugh but noticed the guy had a serious look on his face. "That's utter crap."

"No. It's not. It might even be why you are Commander here," Squall countered. "Edea saw a young man from the future that had defeated an evil Sorceress. What if Headmaster Cid knew what this young man looked like?"

Rubbing his chin, Kenan thought about what the guy said. "Hmpf. I dunno. The Headmaster did tell me about the succession but he didn't say anything about a man from the future."

-"Think about it," Squall told him. "If the past has somehow been altered so that I was never around…someone else could have defeated the Sorceress the same way I did."

Squall shrugged. "Maybe it was you?" He didn't much like this thought, that Kenan had truly taken his place, but Sorceress Ultimecia being back alive was of bigger concern. If he couldn't find a way to change the past back to normal, she would have to be defeated again. It wasn't something he thought of lightly. 

Kenan huffed. "The past being altered, my butt! You expect us all to believe that?"

-"I don't care what you think." Squall stated. "Everything indicates that. I don't think I was even born in your past."

"Never born?" Kenan asked. "How do you know that?"

_Because Laguna doesn't know me_. Squall thought to himself. "Because I was never at the Orphanage, my earliest recollection is of that place. I was never there according to Selphie and the rest. I never joined Balamb Garden. Never became a SeeD, a Commander. And subsequently I never defeated Ultimecia."

Irvine lifted his head up from the pillow. "Hey, could you guys pipe down? You woke me up…"

He let out a yawn and rested his head on the pillow again. It didn't take very long for him to fall asleep once more.

"You seem hardly upset by this Squall," Kenan shot whispers now. "You find out that all of the people you used to know don't know you anymore, and what do you do? Free a Sorceress from prison and make a run for it? Not bloody likely."

Even though Squall was as tired as the rest, he couldn't rest before he sorted things out with that guy. Not that he cared what Kenan thought about the whole matter but perhaps talking to him could give Squall some insight in the situation. It was just like when he'd played along momentarily in the Cafeteria of Balamb Garden. Only now he could tell the truth, regardless of what Kenan might think of it.

Squall stared at the skeptic Commander. He was busy examining his handgun, as if the last thing he said ended the entire conversation. As if there couldn't be another explanation- other than the one in his mind. 

"Are you familiar with the workings of time-compression?" Squall asked to fire up the debate.

Kenan looked up, surprised that Leonhart didn't just shut up and go to sleep already. "Uh, yeah. I am. What about it?"

"So you know it's possible to travel through time," Squall replied. "Once this time-compression has begun?" 

He shrugged. "Doc. Odine told me about it. But the thing is, I don't trust theories, I want proof something will work." 

Squall looked amazed. "So all this time you knew of a way to defeat Ultimecia, but you didn't do anything?"

"It's not like that," He said as he got up and pointed at the window. "Look outside. This is just another inconsistency with the story you told us. Maybe that will finally make you understand what we went through here."

_Another inconsistency_? Squall wondered and got up to gaze through the window. He could see a part of Esthar that he hadn't seen when driving towards the Palace. It was a part that had been almost completely wiped out. Only part of a building still stood where once were many homes. There were the purple colored roads…that led nowhere…an entire intersection must have been destroyed. Thin transparent smoke covered up most of the skies above this site of utter destruction. This hadn't happened yesterday, but certainly not too long ago either. 

From where Squall stood, he couldn't see the ground. But he didn't doubt a large crater to be there.

Kenan sighed and closed his eyes. "Hundreds of people lost their lives fighting off the Lunatic Pandora. Seems the Galbadian mounted some kind of weapon on it…its destructive power is immense, as you can clearly see by what's left." 

"It obliterated entire sections of Esthar in one blast." 

"N-no! That can't be, that never happened!" Squall uttered, slamming his fist against the wall in fury. 

-"But it did." Kenan remarked, slowing opening his eyes again. "That's why it's hard to believe your story."

"No, dammit." Squall cursed- a relatively new thing he was sure picking up rapidly by recent events. "The Lunatic Pandora only hovered over Esthar once, causing minimal losses and damage! How could this have happened?!"

He gestured him to step away from the window. "Calm down. It didn't show you this just to anger you."

-"How can you be so cool about it?!" Squall yelled in astonishment. This guy was just unbelievable.

Kenan shook his head. "I wasn't when I first saw this. That was three weeks ago. Before you had defeated Ultimecia according to your, what? …Your version of the past?"

Still enraged by the things he had just seen, Squall sat down on the edge of his behind and buried his forehead in his hands.

"So you see," Kenan started. "Your theory is flushed down the drain. You thought everything was different because somehow the past had been altered in a way so you, the supposed killer of Sorceress Ultimecia, were never born. Well now, how do you explain this change of strategy?"

He remained quiet. 

Kenan nodded solemnly. "You can't. There is no way that the Sorceress would suddenly decide to attack Esthar with full power all because one person was never born, wouldn't you say?" 

Squall looked up. "You're right. So there must have been more than just one change of the past."

-"Crap." Kenan sighed, getting tired of the guy's persistency. "You need to have your head examined. Ever wondered how what you claim makes people feel? They've seen so much death and destruction caused by Sorceress Ultimecia, then some guy nobody knows comes along and starts telling how he had defeated her long ago, with hardly any of the losses compared to the ones suffered already. Tch…"

What could Squall possibly say to counter this? The guy had an indisputable point. He was more realistic than the rest. Of course there were those willing to almost blindly accept Squall's story. Who wouldn't want to believe things should be better? Who wouldn't want to believe there might be some way things could be changed back to the way they were? 

Kenan was too much of a realist, or pessimist, to just accept it. He had seen too much of all the carnage to have faith in everything that Squall represented. 

Silently Kenan moved back to his post in front of the closed doors, leaving Squall to think about what he said. Maybe now the guy would think twice before he opened his mouth and starts blabbing about the past with all that happy crap.

Squall lay down on his bed. He had no idea that much was changed. Ultimecia attacked Esthar? But why did she do that? Obviously she didn't succeed or else Laguna would have been killed for sure. 

…_Wait a minute_…

There was one question that guy hadn't answered. 

"So why didn't you use Odine's plan yet?" Squall asked. He looked in the direction of the doors, only to see the part of the guy's head resting against them.

Kenan softly grinned in disbelief. "You really that stupid? I thought I pointed it out."

-"Because the Lunatic Pandora attacked Esthar?" Squall asked, ignoring the little comment.

"Yes, that was the most important reason to delay any assassination plan." Kenan explained. "Although the truth is, we were completely caught off guard by the Lunatic Pandora's new weapon. Even Doc Odine didn't know about it."

A dazzled Irvine mumbled something and stuck his head under his pillow.

Squall frowned. "What happened? I mean, what was the outcome of the battle?"

"You really don't know anything, huh?" Kenan huffed. 

-"You did win, right?" Squall asked. He really needed to know.

Sighing, Kenan rested his head against the wooden doors and looked up at the ceiling. "As far as it can be called winning yeah. Esthar suffered heavy casualties, the Galbadians only minor I think. They retreated after a group of soldiers managed to infiltrate the Lunatic Pandora by jumping on it from a high way. Maybe we would have done that too, if we had the time to plan everything- which, in all the chaos, we hardly had." 

Things were starting to make more sense. The looks on Balamb Garden students' faces, now Squall understood them. The fighting had been much more intense, first during the clash between Gardens and later in Esthar. Everything was a few shades darker than it should have been. 

Squall had to ask more to fully comprehend it all. "But why? Why would they attack full-out, then retreat when a few Esthar soldiers managed to get inside the Lunatic Pandora?"

Kenan yawned. "I dunno. Listen, why don't you just can it and get some shut-eye? I will hold myself to the pact and try to help you, but could you slow down for a minute? We'll talk about anything you want tonight at dinner, okay?"

Squall agreed and turned on his side. He wondered if he'd even be able to sleep after so much being revealed to him. 

_How does one prove his existence? _Kenan started thinking as tried to sit as comfortably as he could, ready for keeping watch on Leonhart for at least a few hours. 

_Someone else knows you, and therefor you exist? But how do you in turn prove the other person exists? What is existing anyway? Breathing? Thinking? _

He laughed inwardly. _This is the big unanswered question of course, what is existence? Why? How? _

_Leonhart can never prove himself to me, because I'm not willing to buy anything without clear evidence_. _But what evidence could one possibly have of one's own existence? _

Kenan Gantt contemplated about this for a while. _What if what he says is true? But I'm too stubborn to believe it…what then? If Squall really is supposed to be the Garden commander…who am I? What am I doing here? _

_It sure boggles the mind_. He thought and let out a big yawn. 

------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the girls were sitting in their own room. Still wide-awake…

Unlike Kenan, Quistis didn't see the need to lock the doors or even keep a close eye on the Sorceress. Skye wouldn't do anyone any harm. She was scared more than anything else. Scared Of the Galbadians but also of them- of everyone who had treated her as a Sorceress when she didn't even know for sure that she was one.

"It's like having a slumber party!" Selphie giggled. "Girls only." 

Skye and Quistis laughed and looked at Selphie, as she was bouncing on her bunk in the midst.

Selphie stopped. "Aww…too bad I didn't bring my pj's. We could have had a pajama party!"

Quistis chuckled. She sat on the edge of her bunk, facing Selphie and Skye. It's not like they weren't tired, but this little get-together was a rare occasion, why not make the most of it and gossip 'bout the guys?

As if reading her friend's thought, Selphie let out a positive sigh. "Irvine sure is a hunk, huh?"

-"Something tells me we'd better not be too eager to agree to that." Skye laughed. "You could get the wrong idea." 

Selphie smiled. "At least you don't disagree then."

Skye nodded. "From what I've seen, he looks okay. I wish you two all the best."

-"Thanks!" She exclaimed in gratitude. 

"Hey…since we're talking about guys anyway," Selphie said, turning to Quistis. "Who do _you_ fancy Quis?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think that's a private matter?"

-"Come on!" Selphie edged. "I told you I liked Irvine long ago, you tell us something now."

Quistis crossed her arms and frowned. "There isn't really anyone I like in particular at the moment."

-"Oh really?" Selphie called. "I thought you and Kenan looked like a great couple, tee-hee."

Her cheeks blushed red. "Kenan and me? No, I don't think so."

Skye smiled sadly and tilted her head down.

"What's wrong?" Selphie and Quistis asked. 

She fumbled a bit with her hands in a clumsy matter. "Kenan. He…he doesn't like me very much huh? I saw the way he looked at me in the guest room. He must really hate me."

Selphie leaped towards Skye's bed and sat down next to her. "Aw, don't worry about him. He can be a real jerk sometimes. But it's just his way of looking out for us. Right Quistis?"

"Kenan isn't really that bad a guy," She explained. "He has had some nasty experiences with Sorceresses. In fact, we all have, but he was most upset by it. He didn't tell us of course, guys are like that, they prefer being a closed book…but we could all tell he was deeply affected. What you see as hate is merely frustration, and anger. Since Squall came by he's been mad at himself, but he takes it out on others. It's a very basic way for humans to deal with emotions they can't handle." 

Skye looked up at Quistis. "I think I understand. Thank you."

Selphie giggled. "No need to thank anyone. What are friends for?" 

"Friends?" Skye asked. "You hardly know me, how can we be friends?"

Quistis smiled. "Of course we're friends. It doesn't matter if we just met."

"Say, what about you and Squall? You are friends too, right?"

Skye saddened "Actually, I don't really know. Squall is very much to himself."

"Squall seems like an okay guy," Selphie pointed out. "I'm sure he considers you a friend too." 

-"Yes," Quistis affirmed. "I agree. I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character and Squall struck me as a very capable person, who's somehow gotten involved in a very strange situation."

"I feel sorry for him," Skye sighed. "He has really no clue what happened to him."

Selphie gave her new friend a soft nudge. "H-ey! Let's stop worrying and have some fun! Just the three of us."

She smiled. "Uh, okay, what do you have in mind?"

Quistis looked her over. "First we'll have to get you some decent clothes."

Skye grinned sheepishly and examined her old student uniform. "Yeah, it is rather ugly, isn't it?"

-"We should go out and buy you something new at the mall." Quistis suggested.

"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie exclaimed. "Yeah! That's a great plan. Wow, I can't remember the last time I went shopping…"

They stood up, all ready to head downtown when something hit Quistis.

-"You know, Kenan wouldn't like this idea." She said. "And he is the Commander."

"No problem!" Selphie replied, still cheery. "We sneak out, and don't tell him anything."

Skye frowned. "So isn't he going to notice something when I walk in with new clothes?

Quistis opened the sleeping quarter doors and looked down the hall. Nobody in sight, perfect. 

She stuck her head back in. "Don't worry Skye. We'll just tell him we found it in the closet."

Her face lit up. "You're cunning."

Quistis bowed politely. "Why thank you." 

"Yup." Selphie confirmed. "Quistis is the smart one."

-"That would make you the group cheerleader Selphie." Quistis stated like she was seriously doing some kind of evaluation. The girls shared looks and broke into giggling. 

------------------------------------------

The Iron Clad wasn't much to look at when it had been pulled up from the bottom of the manmade lake. Seifer gave it a thorough inspection before he would cross the Railway bridge and drive the thing into Esthar.

"It's ugly, ya know?" Raijin commented. The Sam08G next to him, which had became a close friend in just a short time, agreed wholeheartedly. 

Seifer exchanged looks with Fujin. "Look who's talking."

But they both realized he did make a point. The thing wasn't pretty when in perfect condition, and now, missing all six top mounted generators it looked bald. The main beam cannon had also been removed; it would only be dead weight, as they couldn't produce the energy to fire it anyway.

"RUSTY." Fujin concluded after walking around it. She stopped and tapped on its dented side. A clang reverberated on the inside of the vehicle- it was the most annoying sound since nails on chalk. If anyone had been inside of the vehicle he'd step out with ears bleeding. 

"It'll have to do." Seifer said, shrugging. "Beats walking."

-"That thing's a coffin on wheels, ya know?"

"HOVER." Fujin corrected. The Iron Clad didn't have wheels, it hovered above the ground. Maybe it was the same technology that made the Gardens fly?

Seifer managed a sly grin. "No matter, because guess whose going to drive it?"

Raijin sagged. His Sam08G friend seemed to mimic Raijin in everything, and this was no exception. 

"NO LIZARDS." Fujin decided with a dirty look upon the scaly green creature. 

"Aw come on." Raijin protested. "They were gonna help in the attack, ya know?"

Seifer searched around. The salvaged Iron Clad stood like some Galbadian monument of war in the center of the square, Raijin and his newfound friend were sitting on the steps leading up to the abandoned Railway station. There was no other Sam08G in sight- they either all drowned or fled. This particular Sam08G thus wasn't the smartest of his kind.

"Fu's right." Seifer said after a short time of contemplating. "This things rusty and compact, we simply don't have any room for more than three. Even if we did, I'm not about to sit next to old smelly here for a couple of hours."

The Sam08G looked as offended as any lizard man with a limited amount of facial expressions could. 

Raijin got up against his will, shook his friend's claw and climbed in the dented Iron Clad.

"Hey you're not gonna mope all the way to Esthar." Seifer warned as he and Fujin got in.

The Iron Clad was all one compartment on the inside, much like a standard APC but where there normally were plenty of seats for the troops now were extra generators and internal fuel tanks. The generators, missing their topside, were rendered quite useless, but stripping these would also mean stripping portions of the Iron Clad's remaining armor, which seemed like a very bad deal. 

Fujin and Seifer tried to sit as comfortably as they could. Fu sat behind the gunner/navigator's console that hung from overhead at a slight angle. Galbadian technology hadn't nearly caught up with Esthar's yet, but it worked well enough for a rusty transport, which was what the Iron Clad was reduced to. 

Seifer sat further in the back, shoulders pressed between large round fuel tanks. At his feet lay boxes of ammo for the gatling gun. They were held in place so they wouldn't roll, but were easily reachable and he guessed that he was the gunner that fed the forward gun. It was a painful demotion.

"Should we get goin'?" Raijin asked, to his two human friends' surprise with a cheerful voice. Of course, he as driver was the most comfortable of all- and probably the best protected of all. The Iron Clad had thick frontal armor, slightly weaker on the sides, and comparatively thin foil on the rear. 

Seifer was aware that a team of SeeDs had survived the Missile Base explosion in this deathtrap but he was sure if the blast had been more focused on the rear they would have all burned. It wasn't a very comforting thought, him being the closest now to the rear of the vehicle. This showed just how much Galbadians cared about their reloaders, he thought.

Raijin looked aside through his narrow viewport at the Sam08G, standing all alone and confused in the open square. 

"Quit moping. We'll get you a new one." Seifer said. "Now drive. I don't wanna be late for this party."

The gearbox made terrifying sounds as if it was being choked by strong hands when Raijin tried to figure out how to work it. Eventually, through some trial and error, he managed to get it where he wanted and the Iron Clad starting to move, up the ramp and on the Bridge.

The lone Sam08G groaned softly, almost sounding like a human sigh, as he waved his departing friend goodbye.

------------------------------------------

Skye couldn't really settle on one dress out of so many. She just couldn't pick which one she liked better. Shopping was something completely new to her…or had she done this before? 

She couldn't remember. 

Selphie's eyes widened as she saw the P-E-R-F-E-C-T dress. It was a yellow short-skirt outfit not unlike the one she frequently wore herself, it would fit Skye perfectly. _Whoo-hoo_!

Meanwhile Quistis had also found a nice outfit, on the other side of the shop. A red long dress with beautiful black sleeves. Really a stunning outfit for Skye, so she figured.

"This one!" Selphie exclaimed and ran back to Skye in the middle of the shop. "Try this one!"

She practically pushed the dress of her choice in Skye's arms. "You'll look fabulous!"

Quistis giggled as she slowly walked back to Skye with the dress of _her_ choice. "Uhm, Skye, do you really want to look like Selphie? I think having one of her around is enough."

"Heeeeeey!" Selphie pouted loudly. "Wouldn't want Skye to look like you either!"

-"Let her decide." Quistis calmly replied.

Selphie smiled knowingly. _She's gonna go for mine…for sure_.

Taking her time, Skye examined the two dresses brought to her by Selphie and Quistis. They both looked great, but she didn't want to hurt either of her friends by having to choose for one of them.

She hesitated. "Uh…they do look okay…but…uh…"

There was a light blue dress hanging just in front of Skye that suddenly caught her attention. Apart from the color, it was a perfect mix of the two dresses offered by Selphie and Quistis. The skirt wasn't as short as the one Selphie offered, but not as long as the one Quistis offered either. 

And the fabric…wow. Soft yet warm, she could tell just by looking at it.

"Sorry," Skye grinned and handed the dress Selphie picked back to her. "But I'm gonna go for that blue one!"

Quistis laughed. "Guess you didn't need our help after all."

-"Humph…I don't see what's wrong with the one I chose…" Selphie mumbled. "Oh well!"

She scurried to the back of the shop and hung the outfit she chose back on the rack. 

Quistis accompanied Skye to the counter and paid for the dress. It was quite reasonably priced for such nice outfit. 

With a brand new outfit in her possession, Skye exited the shop. Mission accomplished, so to speak.

They walked towards one of the many benches in the shopping mall and sat down for a minute or so. The shopping mall had miraculously survived all the carnage that had rained down upon the rest of Esthar, and while it was a time of war and despair, quite a number of shops were still open. The Weapon Shop was making millions… 

Skye sighed. "Phew, I dunno about you two, but I think I'd best get some sleep soon."

"Yeah," Selphie muttered, suddenly reminded of her fatigue again. "Let's head back to the Palace."

Quistis just casually looked over her shoulder to see what other shops were located at the mall as she noticed a man staring back at her. He sat too far away to be able to clearly identify him, but Quistis did notice his weird collar.

The man ran off the moment he found out he was discovered. He had a silly way of running, yet he was quite fast.

Quistis rose to her feet. "Who was that man?"

Selphie and Skye turned around. "What man?"

-"A man was staring at us just now," Quistis told them, still scanning around. "He ran away when I noticed him."

Selphie peered around. A few people were walking around in the mall, but because it was still early, there weren't that many. Most of them were buying weapons and armor. 

Quistis shrugged. "That man…I think I've seen him before."

"What did he look like?" Skye asked. 

She crossed her arms. "Well, he had a strange collar around his neck. And he wasn't exactly tall…ran fast…"

Selphie's face lit up. "I know! That's Doctor Odine! Definitely!"

"Yeah," Skye agreed with her. "I went to see him about an hour ago, and that is what he looked like. He was acting funny when I walked in. He looked as though he recognized me."

"So what did he do?" Selphie asked. 

"Nothing. Kiros told him to remove my bangle and he..well..he seemed more than happy to do just that."

The question then was; why was he observing them? Quistis realized it had something to do with Skye, but if so, what exactly? Had he followed her all the way from the Presidential Palace for some reason?

Skye looked down. _It must be because I'm a Sorceress_.

-"Are you okay?" Selphie asked with a voice of concern.

She looked up at her. "Oh…yes. I'm fine. Just thinking."

Quistis didn't see what else they could do about it right now, and headed for the President Palace. Too bad most hovering thingamajigs were out of order; they had to walk.

------------------------------------------

Headmaster Cid sifted through the various reports scattered on his desk. Most were full of bad news. Casualty lists…damaged systems reports; it was enough to depress even the most cheery of people. And still no word from Commander Gantt. 

He was starting to get worried about the Commander. His mission shouldn't have taken that long, what could be keeping them? Could the Galbadians have attacked them?

But then, he knew Kenan was a capable young man. A bit troubled at times, but certainly a strong person. For now Cid just had to wait a bit longer to hear from him. There was nothing else he could do.

"Sir." Xu called and saluted. "We have arrived at the coordinates and are preparing to set the Garden down."

The headmaster smiled. Finally, some good news. "That's good to hear. But what about the system failure?"

Xu's face immediately grew worried. "The drain has stabilized Sir, but we've been unable to find the cause of it." 

Cid climbed out of his chair. "Make sure we do. Such a malfunction could be fatal in combat."

"Aye Sir!" She replied and saluted. 

The headmaster stepped on the small elevator and went up to the Garden controls. Nida was very busy trying to keep the Garden steady in the harsh weather conditions they seemed to be in. 

"Is everything under control Nida?" The Headmaster asked as he stepped up next to him.

He let out a sigh. "No Sir…I've lost radar and have to do everything manually now. And it's dark outside."

A big mass of dark clouds effectively blocked out most sunlight in the area they were moving towards. Occasionally a few thin beams of lightning would strike down but they produced no sound, just a flash of light that hurt the eyes, and the equipment as well. The land underneath was desolate- even for Centra continent standards. No trees, roaming animals or even birds in the sky. The Garden hovered over a dry hill and came upon a large crater. 

Nida had seen this before somewhere, but where was it? He looked at the instruments on the console in front of him. The compass was whirling around like crazy, before finally giving up completely. 

He looked nervously at the Headmaster. 

Cid smiled reassuringly. "I expected this. I'm sure we can handle it."

Nida pushed the rudder forward. "I hope so Sir."

The Garden shook heavily, yet only for a few seconds. Carefully he started the descent. It wasn't like they were high up in the sky in the first place, but one still had to descent slowly or else the Garden could suffer heavy damage upon touching down. The mass of the flying building was incredible. In fact, it was the bulkiest moving vehicle ever made- no doubt about that. Once stopped it took several minutes to get it to move, and once moving it took an equal amount of time to get it to slow down in a controlled fashion.

The Ragnarok II and III were already on the designated location.

"Steady as she goes." Nida mumbled to himself, hoping he wouldn't crash on top of the two airplanes that had landed on the ground, waiting for Balamb Garden to arrive no doubt.

As the Headmaster peered down, a large number of Esthar soldiers came into view. They were standing in the inspection formation, with their squad leaders in front. 

"I see our friends made it." Headmaster Cid said as he waved at them with one arm. 

Nida stopped the descent as the ground came too close for his liking. He couldn't set Balamb Garden all the way down, since that would mean the lower part of the Garden would have to penetrate solid rock first. That probably wouldn't be a pretty sight to see.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Phew, we made it Sir."

The headmaster laughed. "I never doubted we would. Excellent flying Nida."

-"Thank you Sir." 

------------------------------------------

Irvine rolled down the green hill and landed on his back right next to Selphie. 

"Whoa, that was new." He laughed, but made no attempt to get up.

Selphie smiled, as she lay perfectly still in the grassy field, staring up at the passing clouds. "Didn't you ever roll down hills as a kid Irvy? Boy…can't believe you missed out on that."

He supported his head with his hands. "Well, I was never one to goof around all the time."

-"And you're saying I am?" Selphie asked, feigning hurt.

Irvine tossed his hat on her face, as if offering it to make amends. "Nope that's not what I meant, beautiful."

She held the hat up in front of her. "For me?"

"Sure, it's all yours." Irvine assured her, running his hand through his hair. He suddenly felt bald without his lucky hat.

Her eyes went all puppy-dog like. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

-"C'mon, it's no biggie." Irvine replied in his usual laid-back tone of voice. "Though, you should take good care of it."

Selphie crawled up to a sitting position. "You know? There's something I have to tell you Irvine."

Grinning, Irvine crawled up too. "And what's that dear?"

-"Get up Pineapple!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh…what?"

-"Irvine! Get up, it's my turn for some shut-eye."

His eyelids slowly opened. "K-Kenan?"

Everything was still a big blur, but he could make out a shadow hanging over him.

-"Yeah it's me. Were you expecting anyone else?" 

_That was a dream? Aww and such a nice one_. Irvine thought as he slowly figured out what the hell was going on.

Kenan yanked the pillow out from under his head. "C'mon, get up! Your turn to stand watch." 

He was pulled up without further yelling, and before he knew it Kenan had taken over his bed. 

"Wake me up in about three hours, okay?" 

Irvine rubbed his eyes. "Uh…y-eah. Sure thing."

He stood dazzled at one side of his…former…bed. For a few moments he was too sleepy to even move a muscle, but this feeling soon faded and he moved towards the center of the room.

Zell and Squall were sleeping, Kenan would soon be. And Irvine had to stand watch…yippee…

Sighing, he leaned against the wall opposite to Squall's bed and looked at the guy.

"The guy who killed Ultimecia…or a Spy?…" He mumbled to himself.

------------------------------------------

Laguna had casually thrown up his feet on the desk in his office, glad to have a time out from making important decisions in the command bunker. Through the long windows he saw APCs and trucks moving up and down the road. Two APCs going in opposite directions met on a road that was only wide enough for one. The drivers were shouting at one and other to back up. Things like that were getting too common. It was all one big, horrible logistical nightmare.

The Esthar army was still licking its wounds from the previous Galbadian attack- they weren't ready for another skirmish. Almost every system had taken damage and was now running on backup, or even secondary back up. The few functioning power generators that were left were about to blow up from operating above safety limits. The shield around the city was on for one hour and off the next two, and the ratio was getting worse. 

Kiros knocked on his open door and strolled in, looking exactly how Laguna felt. 

Laguna greeted his friend with a smile, a rather too conscious effort. "How's the evacuation going?"

Kiros eyed the traffic jam outside. "Could have gone better but most civilians are safe. The last convoy of transports is heading for the north caves now. Are you sure you don't want Ellone going with them?"

"That wouldn't be a good idea. Sorceress Adel has no particular use for the civilians, and they're not a threat, but sending Ellone with them would mean endangering all of them."

Kiros understood. "So that's why you didn't want any soldiers to guard the caves either."

"Yeah." He said and sat up his chair, feet on the floor again. "It wasn't an easy order to give. Half our army presently consists of hastily trained civilians- anyone who wasn't too young or too old to hold a gun. They all want to protect their family and I can't say I don't know how they feel."

"But they protect their family by protecting the City. They know this Laguna." Kiros told him. 

He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. "But still. What if we just let the Galbadians have it?"

Kiros looked out the window at their proud city. Fortifications were being set up all over the place, but mostly towards the edge of the City, far away from the Palace. "That's not what we promised eighteen years ago, Laguna. The people of Esthar would never have to live in tyranny again."

"Eighteen years ago there wasn't a big pillar floating in the sky and on its way over." 

Kiros turned to him. "Plans exist for all kinds of emergency situations, Mr. President."

Laguna didn't like it when Kiros called him 'Mr. President'. His buddy always had a reason for addressing him as such, for reminding him of his title. Usually, in time of peace, it had been a subtle way of telling him he was joking about too much and that should act his age. 

But now, Laguna had no idea. He had never been as serious as he had been in the command room, discussing the strategy and troop deployment with the army generals. Didn't even crack a joke once!

"What you weren't told," Kiros continued after a long pause, "But what we did know, is that Lunatic Pandora is much too slow to catch up with Balamb Garden. All we needed to verify was the status of their engines. As long as they are working it is impossible for the main Galbadian Army to attack them, now that they have sacrificed their Galbadia Garden."

"Then why did you let me send those two Squads?" Laguna asked. 

"Just in case we'll need them." Kiros answered cryptically and gazed at the row of APCs that were rolling towards the city limits. The traffic jams were disappearing as the Esthar army regrouped and prepared for a desperate battle. 

Laguna sunk in his chair. He wasn't the young man he once was. He was terrified and worried. Even the hope of a fool had left him, along with his optimism. 

"What should we tell the SeeDs?" Kiros asked.

-"Nothing. Let them sleep, they all seemed to need it. As long as we're not attacked, we're having that dinner we promised them this evening. Whether the Galbadians are coming or not." 

Kiros smiled lightly. "As you wish, your highness."

He actually chuckled. "Yeah I know, I'm stubborn. That was your point, wasn't it?"

"You knew? I guess it's true what they say." He laughed. 

-"What's that?"

"Wisdom and old age." He replied. 

He slowly nodded his head in consideration. "Maybe. But too bad your dress sense hasn't improved over the years!"

Kiros rolled his eyes. Not that discussion again…

------------------------------------------

Some time later the Palace staff had busied themselves to prepare a decent meal, and Kiros went to fetch the guys and the girls from their rooms. 

"Everyone, it's right this way." Kiros told them, leading the now well rested but hungry team towards the food. The corridors inside the Palace were long and most looked alike, but they didn't really need a guide to find their way. 

Zell had his nose in the air as if he was a sniffing dog. "Just follow the smell guys!"

Seconds later he almost crashed into a wall. Then again, they DID need a guide- but some more so than others.

Skye giggled at the antics that were all new to her but old and mostly annoying to the others. 

She fell back to walk alongside Squall, he hadn't said anything and she knew this had a special reason. 

"Not hungry?" She tried.

"No, I am." He said. "I flushed the rations down the toilet."

She laughed. "I'm glad we won't have to eat that anymore."

His face remained stern. "Palace staff isn't too glad with it. Clogged the drainage system."

She giggled before returning to being serious. "Is that what's bothering you Squall?"

-"No. Look at the roads."

They were passing a set of windows and Skye looked out. All nearby roads were deserted, no vehicles and no people could be seen. She squinted. Maybe in the distance, at the edge of the city. But the sun was falling behind the large mountain range and darkness was setting in. 

"What does this mean?" Skye asked.

-"That it won't be long now."

The silence outside was deafening. 

Skye gasped as she entered the dinning room. The place was absolutely gorgeous. The walls were made of marble; one could see their own reflection in it perfectly. A huge chandler hung above the long dinning table and provided most light in the room, as there was only one circular, colored window. Certainly this room wasn't chosen for the view, as one couldn't see much standing, let alone sitting down. 

Laguna rubbed his hands together. "Ah, everyone is here now? Please, grab a seat and enjoy the meal!"

He sat on the head of the table together with Commander Gantt and opposite to him, practically on the other side of the room sat Ellone. On the left long side were Selphie, Irvine and Quistis and Kiros, and on the other side sat Ward, all by himself until he was joined by Squall, Skye and Zell. 

Every guy in the room was wondering about Skye's new blue dress.

_Looks nice_. Kenan thought to himself. _Where'd she get that?_

She sat down, smiling widely, and examined what was on the table.

Everyone had their own set of knifes, forks, and even different plates for the various kind of meals. 

A large plate of roasted meat lay in the middle of several smaller plates with vegetables, just waiting to be consumed in full. Zell eyed it, making sure he would get a piece and that neither Kenan nor Irvine would steal it all before he did. 

They politely waited for Laguna to start with the meal. He noticed everyone looking at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" He said, remembering the formalities he'd been taught. "A toast!"

He grabbed his glass of wine and stood up. The others did the same.

Laguna froze and he was a statue of himself proposing a toast. _Uh-oh…I forgot my line…_

"A toast," Kiros started, coming to his friend's aid. "To a better cooperation between Esthar and Balamb Garden. That we may work together as one, and soon end this terrible war."

Kenan smirked. "I'll drink to that."

They laughed and carefully tapped with their glasses, as people always do when toasting, then all sat down and began filling their plates with whatever lay in their reach. The plate of fried potatoes was the first to be emptied, but luckily one of the kitchen crew stood close by and fetched another plate full of the stuff.

Kiros' eyes widened as he saw Zell reaching for the roasted beef like someone who hadn't eaten in years.

"There is enough for everyone." He assured, but Zell didn't seem to hear it.

Kenan poured himself another glass of wine. His first one of the evening already having disappeared 'down the hatch'.

"Easy on the wine Kenan." Quistis giggled.

He threw her a surprised look. "Hey, do I look like a guy who would drink too much?"

Irvine raised his index finger, indicating he was about to make a good point. "Actually, I think--whoa!"

Kenan had used a piece of bread as a projectile. "Heh, eat my friend, don't talk. Eat."

Laguna laughed as he poured some soup on his plate before beginning with the real meal. "That's one way to shut someone up. Gotta remember that when Kiros starts yapping next time."

Kiros grinned. "Actually, Laguna, you do most of that."

"And swallow!" Selphie exclaimed looking at big-cheeked Zell across the table. "Swallow the food Zell!"

Zell slammed with his fist on the table as he managed to get a huge piece of that roasted meat down his throat, hardly having to chew it at all. Afterwards he considered himself luckily it didn't get stuck halfway to his stomach.

Squall had taken a smaller portion of the same meat. "What exactly is this?" He wondered.

After slurping down another spoon-full of mighty hot soup, Laguna looked up. "That?…Oh…that's chocobo meat."

"Wha?!" Zell coughed heavily. "Chocobo meat?! I ate Chocobo meat!?!"

Skye could tell by Laguna's face that he was only kidding so she happily continued consuming everything on her plate.

-"No," Kiros laughed. "Laguna's joking. Actually I think it's…uh…quite delicious for meat of unknown origin."

Zell drank his glass of wine empty. "Ah never mind. As long as it's not Chocobo meat, I guess it's okay."

They laughed and all starting conversing in little groups, as happened in the guest room that morning.

Squall frowned. "Laguna, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," He replied cheery. "Shoot."

-"Yo, can someone pass me the peas?" Zell called. 

"Well," Squall started, and thought about where Kenan had left off when they talked earlier. "It's about the battle with the Lunatic Pandora that took place here."

Laguna put his spoon down and his face turned serious. "Go ahead, what do you want to ask?"

-"Hellooo? Peas please." Zell grumbled impatiently. He knew Irvine wasn't listening to him… he was too busy feeding his girlfriend_. Bah, who needs a girlfriend? Only costs you food!_

Squall briefly glared at the other people around the table. Nobody other than Kenan and Laguna paid attention to him.

"Can you tell my why it attacked Esthar in the first place?" Squall asked. That was a good place to start. 

Laguna nodded slightly. "Probably to get Elly. But maybe Sorceress Adel wanted revenge too."

Zell waved with his arms in the air. "Is anyone listening?!"

Skye chuckled and gave him a gentle nudge in his side. 

"The peas are right under your nose Zell." She whispered. "You really are goofy, just like Selphie said."

Suddenly strange quiet, Zell continued with his meal.

Squall took a sip from his wine. "I see. And I was wondering, do you know why they retreated so suddenly?"

-"Kiros?" He called across the table. "Do we know why the Lunatic Pandora retreated?"

Kiros apologized to Quistis and Ellone for having to interrupt their conversation and thought deeply. "Lunatic Pandora's retreat…hmm? Isn't it because our squad managed to infiltrate it?"

"But from what I heard, they were winning." Squall stated. "So why would they retreat when only a small squad gets inside? It doesn't make any sense. Their whole strategy puzzles me."

Kiros smiled. "If only things were as you said Mr. Leonhart. That was indeed a better world you talked about."

"Yeah? Well your whole story puzzles me Leonhart." Kenan told him as he filled up his plate once more. He was eating like a savage, but so were Ward and Zell, meaning it was okay.

Quistis turned to Kenan. "Are you sure it's the right time for this Commander?"

He quickly devoured a small chunk of bread then laughed. "Oh, I believe everyone already knows how I feel about it."

-"Yes." Squall confirmed. "And I can understand that, but I'm not your enemy. I've been asking all those questions so I knew what went on here, and maybe get some idea of what I--no, we should do to make things as they were."

The mood at the table suddenly changed, and they all quieted down, except for Zell who was making disgusting sounds trying to eat as much as he could in under a minute. Or so it appeared.

Now seemed the time for discussing the important stuff, rather than engage in small talk.

"A plan…" Irvine mumbled, and stopped feeding Selphie tiny grapes. "Yeah, we definitely gotta figure something out."

-"Agreed." Kiros said from his end of the table. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to contact Balamb Garden, and we would need to discuss this with the Headmaster."

The SeeDs looked worried.

Quistis lay down her knife and fork and stared down at her nearly empty plate. She never was a big eater, and now her stomach was too tight with stress to be able to fill it properly. "You still haven't contacted Balamb Garden? This can't be a good sign."

"No we did," Laguna said. "But not through direct communication, which is what Kiros meant."

-"Then how?" Squall and Kenan asked simultaneously.

Ward and Kiros exchanged looks. Both Kenan and Squall were definitely leader-types. Kiros and Ward had enough experience with those types of people to be able to tell. 

Always asking questions, one of the trademarks of good leaders. The quest for information never came at an end.

"Two Squads were sent to Balamb Garden and delivered a message." Laguna explained. "By now Balamb Garden should long be in Zone Two on the Centra Continent. It's even harder to get a message through from that position, as I'm sure Commander Gantt is well aware."

_Zone Two?_ Squall thought to himself, wondering where he had heard about that before.

Selphie frowned. "Is that a safe place? I've never heard of it."

"It should be." Kiros told her. "But just in case it isn't, the two squads that we sent have joined forces with Balamb Garden to strengthen their defenses."

Zell leaned against the table with his elbows. "So now the plan is to hide from the enemy or somethin'?"

-"Dincht." Kenan called. "Don't be rude."

"Only for now." Kiros assured Zell. "Although we've yet to come up with a plan of attack."

-"First we need to actually locate the Lunatic Pandora." Laguna sighed.

Squall looked aside at Skye. "Can you sense anything? Where Adel is maybe?" 

She was surprised he asked her this, when a while ago she didn't know she had any powers in the first place.

"No, I don't think so." She replied. "I can only sense concern…I think."

Selphie smiled sadly. "I hope Balamb Garden won't suffer the same fate as Trabia Garden."

Kenan dug into his mind. "If I recall correctly, Headmaster Cid told me that Zone Two is an excellent place to go to if you don't want to be seen. Apart from the fact that it's remote, there's also a lot of strange interference in that area, which blocks most scans. This makes Balamb Garden nearly invisible to the enemy's radar."

Laguna grinned. "I think that was supposed to be classified."

Making a dismissive hand gesture, Ward assured it didn't matter.

Selphie smiled. "Okay, as long as everyone is safe."

"Uh…speaking of safe…" Laguna muttered, scratching the back of his head.

He eyed Kiros. "I want you and Ellone to travel back to Balamb Garden together with these guys."

"But Uncle," Ellone said, smiling sadly. "Why can't you come too? It's not safe to be here."

-"I know. But I can't leave my post now." Laguna pointed out. "I'm the President remember? Besides, the war will be over in no time. You can come back to Esthar as soon as the fighting stops, what do ya say?"

She reluctantly nodded. "If you think it's best."

Quistis shrugged. "Exactly how will we travel back to Balamb Garden? We'll need to cross an ocean."

Laguna laughed and casually sunk bunk in his chair. "Let's just say, I hope you all went easy on the fish."

Zell gulped. "Oh no! By boat?"

Irvine leaned back in his chair too. "Aww, I was kinda hoping we could fly."

"People can't fly dummy." Selphie chirped.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's not exactly what I meant."

Selphie was about to speak up again as a loud alarm sounded. It echoed throughout the entire Palace.

Laguna, Kiros and Ward immediately jumped up.

"Sorry guys, no time for desserts!" Laguna yelled. "Looks like the Galbadians are here!" 


	10. AE Chapter 10

**Angelus Errare**

Written by _-Laguna-_

Author's Note: Okay okay okay, I give. You win. Yes I haven't updated in about a million years and yes I have a day off today, so I looked up my old notes and my even older Chapter 10 and continued the Re-re-edit process that I started so long ago. This doesn't mean I'm committed to finishing this already 30 Ch. long story, for which my apologies to my readers. I'm horrible I know, but between school and work and gaming it's hard to find enough free time to finish this monster. I also doubt my abilities to continue the story in the same style it started, since this was more than 3 years ago now. I'm out of touch with the sense of humor, general writing style, and plot development stuff. Basically even if I did try to finish it, would it do the story justice? I hate crappy endings that feel out of balance with the rest of the story. Anyway, hope you enjoy Ch. 10.

**Chapter 10: Tactical** **Retreat…**

The group ran into the hallway, weapons at the ready, or in the case of Zell, salad forks.

Esthar soldiers rushed by without giving any notice to them or their President. They were getting their orders through military channels now.

"Come on!" Laguna called out, with the alarms sounding again in the background. "We'll go to the Command Center."

He ran off ahead together with Kiros.

Ward accompanied Ellone, as Laguna would only feel comfortable if one of his buddies guarded her.

Kenan checked his handgun's clip and glanced over his shoulder at 'his' team.

"Okay," He said. "Bad timing …but this could be it. The big battle. Be careful."

Irvine, Zell, Selphie and Quistis all nodded. Squall briefly wondered why he had to relive the attack on Esthar, and quickly concluded that he was still a SeeD, and that he'd have no choice but to fight along side his companions if this was to lead to yet another battle.

Suddenly there was an explosion. The sound was a bit muffled, but it was definitely a big blast and the whole Palace rumbled from the aftershock.

Kenan lead the group as they ran through the hallways.

Skye ran close along the walls. If another explosion occurred, she could use it to steady herself. The alarms and explosions were causing her stomach to shrink.

"What the heck is goin' on?!" Zell exclaimed, panting.

-"The Lunatic Pandora?" Irvine wondered.

Squall held his gunblade tight with two hands. "That can't be, how could it sneak up on Esthar?"

Laguna stopped up ahead to allow everyone to catch up. He motioned with his arm. "C'mon. The Command Center is this way. It should be able to withstand an attack even from the Lunatic Pandora."

The sound of another explosion echoed. This one was further away than the last, but not any less powerful.

"Dammit!" Kenan cursed. "What is that?!"

-"A missile?" Squall questioningly answered. "I don't hear return fire. Is the Lunatic Pandora carrying missiles now?"

Selphie shook her head in fright. "Oh no! Esthar is virtually defenseless against a missile attack!"

Laguna waited for the last aftershock to die down, then led the group to the Command Center.

The doors slid open. He noticed Kiros stood but a few paces inside the room with his head hanging down.

Laguna gasped. "W-what?! …No!!"

"What's wrong?" Kenan asked, he stepped up and gestured they rest to stay back.

He was stunned by what he saw. There were bodies lying everywhere, soaked in blood.

-"…A massacre…" Kiros whispered without looking back at anyone.

Nobody had been left alive in the Command Center. Men, women…young soldiers and officers, it didn't matter who they were, they had all been brutally killed.

"Uncle?" Ellone called from behind him. She couldn't see inside the room as Kenan and Laguna blocked most of the view by standing in the doorway.

"What's going on?!" Zell demanded to know. The rest couldn't see anything either, and maybe that was for the better.

-"Commander, don't let anyone in." Laguna whispered and stepped further into the room.

At the same time Kenan backed up and allowed the door to close.

He looked at them all, yet cleverly avoided eye contact. They would be able to tell what was going on just by looking into his eyes, he was sure of it.

Kiros and Laguna stood side by side in the Command Center, appalled by the sight of so many people lying lifeless in a puddle of their own blood. Even though they'd both seen much death before during their time in the Galbadian army-, what they saw around them turned their stomachs.

It wasn't until now Laguna noticed the air in the room was different; thicker somehow. As if there hung a mist, yet an invisible one, as neither him nor Kiros could clearly see anything wrong with the air itself. It was a familiar sensation but Laguna had trouble placing it.

"…They never saw it coming…" Kiros pointed out. "There must be at least thirty people that lost their lives here…"

He was looking at an officer whom had been killed, still sitting in his chair at his post.

Laguna looked at the other bodies. They all looked like they'd been attacked from behind. A sudden, swift and most off all, deadly attack.

One soldier had left a trail of blood on the floor, from his guard post beside the entrance on the opposite side of the room, leading to a control panel. His hand was still on one of the buttons of the panel. It was the alarm button. He was the one who set it off.

With his last ounce of strength he tried to warn everyone.

He had died not long after that. It looked like someone…or something…had cut him in the back.

Kiros bent over to examine another victim. Also cut in the back.

Their first conclusion was correct, indeed it was a lightning fast surprise attack. No ordinary human or even group of humans could ever kill so quickly and efficiently. Apart from the one soldier that managed to sound the alarm, everyone had seemingly been killed instantaneously.

Laguna closed his eyes and breathed out to try to calm himself. At least they didn't suffer, he thought.

Kiros stood up again. "Whatever did this must be in the Palace. We have to get out of here."

"And leave everyone in Esthar to be murdered like these men?!" Laguna snapped.

Seemingly calm, Kiros picked up a machine gun and threw it to Laguna. "Don't you get it Laguna? If you get caught or killed, Esthar is surely lost. You've been the President for nearly two decades now. You are the most important person in Esthar. Whatever quirks you may have, you are their hero, you saved them from a Sorceress once before. YOU Laguna."

He frowned at the machinegun, feeling both weak and enraged at the same time . "But the Sorceress will kill them all! I cannot abandon Esthar now."

"No." Kiros replied. "I don't think the Sorceress even cares about the people one way or the other. She's just after you; this killing is just to get to you. And most people should be safe in the caverns for now. Only our soldiers have remained in the city."

Laguna shook his head. "This isn't fair Kiros. We have already lost before our fight started…"

Kiros started to make his way to the door. "As long as you are alive Mr. President, our forces will surely continue to fight. For now we have to escape. Let's go to the Airport."

-"So you're just going to abandon them like that? Run away from the fight?! Hand Esthar back to Adel?!"

Adel. The air. The feeling. Laguna remembered it now. She did this.

Kiros stopped. "There is no choice. Our troops will probably surrender if you are killed or caught. As long as there is the possibility…the hope, that you are alive and well, they will fight."

Laguna slammed his fist against one of the panels. "Dammit Kiros, I swore to protect Esthar!"

-"You can't always." Kiros offered and mindlessly stared at the lifeless body of a female officer lying close to him.

Laguna couldn't look and turned his head away. "Okay! Say we run, where do we go?!"

There was a special kind of hint in Kiros' deep blue eyes, which his buddy recognized all too well.

"Balamb Garden of course."

"I wonder what's keeping them." Zell mumbled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The fighting outside had diminished, and they couldn't judge whether this was good or bad.

Quistis looked up. "Commander, what went on in there? Why can't we see?"

His eyes narrowed as he stared back at her blankly. "I think we lost Esthar…that's what happened."

Squall knew what he meant. He looked at the others.

Skye knew it too. Perhaps she was able to sense it somehow as part of her awakening Sorceress powers. She was shocked.

Quistis and Ward had guessed it by now as well.

The rest still looked worried, when in fact they should consider themselves lucky to be blessed with such ignorance.

It's better not to know certain things...

Squall started down at the floor. One never gets used to being so close to death.

Zell stood up straight. "Say, is it just me or has the attack stopped?"

They all found it was strangely quiet all of the sudden. No explosions, no gunfire, no clash of metal, nothing.

Ward glanced around nervously. This couldn't be right. They couldn't just stop attacking.

The doors of the Command Center slid open. Kiros and Laguna joined up with the group in the hallway.

Before anyone had the time to look inside, Laguna smashed his hand on the touch plate on the wall next to the entrance. The door shut. He pushed another few buttons and it locked up completely. Besides himself, Kiros and Ward, nobody would be able to enter.

"Well?" Selphie asked curiously. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

She noticed Laguna held a machine gun in his right hand. It reminded her of the dreams. He was even dressed in his battle outfit. "Did the Galbadians enter the Palace?"

Laguna took a deep breath and hoped he could keep himself together. "Yes Selphie. And the Sorceress too."

-"What do you want us to do, Sir?" Quistis asked.

He made sure his machine gun was loaded. "We're going to the Airport. We're gonna escape."

Kenan approached him. "What? Are you sure?"

Laguna walked past, heading for the exit. "I don't like the plan either. But if we all die here, that won't do Esthar any good either. There is no choice."

"Yes, there is no choice…" Kiros sighed. He wished there were something he could do, but what?

The very heart of the Esthar military had been destroyed without any resistance what so ever. What could the nine of them possibly do?

Kenan jogged up to Laguna. "So we're gonna leave? But what about the people here?!" He was their President, he couldn't just abandon them, could he?

"We are going." He replied sounding self-assured. "And don't worry about the people. There are hiding places in the mountains, built for situations like this. Only the military will stay in Esthar and fight, the rest should be save for a while."

-"A while?" Kenan asked. "Do you even realize what you're saying here?"

Laguna gestured everyone to follow him and he made his way to the Airport. He never answered the question.

------------------------------------------ 

After running for about two minutes, the hallways came to an end. Strange thing was they didn't encounter any Esthar soldiers along the way. No Palace personnel either.

They were now walking through some sort of big tube. The floor of which was made from glass.

Zell looked down through it. The tube was suspended above the ground…quite high. Lucky for him his fear of heights didn't act up now.

Kiros was first to reach the end of the tube. There was a rather large door, mostly made of glass, but lined with a sturdy metal in the shape of an 'X'.

He simply pushed the open button, and the door began rising towards the ceiling.

"Phew," Selphie said, relieved. "We made it."

Irvine peered up ahead. There was only one more stretch to go; a purple road that connected the Presidential Palace to the Airport.

The door rose slowly but made it to the ceiling before anyone really got impatient.

Kiros stepped outside and first made sure they weren't walking into an ambush.

But there were no Galbadian soldiers, and the Lunatic Pandora was nowhere in sight.

He was relieved to see there were Esthar soldiers, however. They were running along a lower highway.

Kiros couldn't tell whether they were running away from something, or towards a battle in which they were needed.

It hit him that those soldiers were probably receiving orders from the secondary Command Center, which was located on the outskirts of the city. Esthar wasn't lost just yet.

Those soldiers wouldn't stop fighting even if the Galbadians took the Palace. They were specifically instructed to employ guerilla tactics in a scenario like the ones they were facing. The plan was to disable the City to such an extend that it would hardly be worth holding on to.

"Mr. Kiros?" Selphie called. "I don't see any Airplane."

Laguna bolted past. "Don't worry, it's there."

Squall was walking at the rear of the group together with Skye, getting all kinds of bad vibes.

Skye was scared beyond measure but felt safe around her SeeD. He'd proven himself a great fighter. She thought about a book she was allowed to read while she remained in the Balamb Garden prison. It was about a Sorceress and her knight. She felt Squall was her knight.. .. ..

"C'mon guys." Zell said as he glanced back at those two. "Let's get the hell outta here."

…''Leonhart''….

Squall stopped. "Did you hear that?"

Ward waved with his arms from up ahead. Skye waved back. "Yes, we're coming! Right Squall?"

…''Just you and me Leonhart…''

Squall cursed under his breath. _Seifer is here_. He could recognize the voice amongst a thousand others.

Skye reached the doorway and made it outside. The smell of fire hung in the air.

She noticed there was a reasonable distance between her and Kiros, given the fact she couldn't keep up with all the running just now.

Kenan turned around and noticed Squall still hadn't left the Palace yet. "Dincht! Go check on Leonhart! What the hell is that guy thinking?"

Squall stood staring down the quiet, empty corridor. Nothing? Was he imagining things now?

He was about to join up with Skye when the door came crashing down. He had to jump back or he'd be squished.

"Squall?!" Skye yelled from outside. "Squall!!"

She smashed against the door with her hands.

-"Leonhart. So we meet again."

Squall turned. Seifer emerged slowly from the shadows holding a red gunblade, which reflected the dim light in an eerie way. His hair was a mess and his cape was torn and covered in blood spats. He had look of a crazed psychotic, that infinite stare that holds nothing but malice.

"Seifer!"

He smirked like the devil. "That's right. I've come to get my gunblade back."

Squall briefly examined his gunblade. "This blade is crooked, just like you."

Seifer stared back at him. "Oh, aren't you the smartass?

He laughed. "Well, no matter. You'll be dead in about a minute anyway."

Squall stood with his back against the closed door and the tip of his blade pointed at Seifer. "We'll end this here!"

Seifer looked back over his shoulder at his two lackeys. "What is he talking about? End what?"

-"UNKNOWN." Fujin answered. She and Raijin stood there, eyeing the floor as if they were kids who'd just been naughty. They made no move to attack or in any way come to Seifer's aid. If anything they seemed ashamed.

Seifer turned back to Leonhart. "All right. Let's end this. You and me."

Laguna and Kiros ran back.

"The door!" Skye told them. "It closed all of a sudden!"

Zell and Selphie were working on the outside panel. No luck…it wouldn't respond to anything.

Kenan and the others waited up ahead, not really sure what all the commotion was about.

"We'll have to force it open." Laguna stated.

Kiros nodded. "Yes, but that could take a while. Do we have the time?"

Laguna smashed at the glass with his fist.

"Ow! You're right!" He affirmed, seeing nothing happen to the glass. "Just go then! Start up the plane, I'll take care of things here. And no complaints, that's an order Kiros."

-"Yes Sir, Mr. President!" He replied.

Laguna watched him heading for the Airport then turned to Selphie and Zell. They were gasping about something.

"They're fighting!" Zell exclaimed, witnessing Squall and Seifer attacking each other on the other side of the door.

Selphie banged against the panel once more. "C'mon! Open up stupid door!"

As Kenan ran all the way back to check on the situation, the tip of a gunblade hit the glass of the door on the inside, just in front of where Kenan's nose was on the outside.

"Damn!" He cursed. "Dincht! Work on that panel, open the door!"

Zell jumped aside and started messing with the circuitry. He pretty much already learned it wasn't going to work, but who was he to question Kenan's orders?

"Squall!" Skye yelled again and looked at Laguna. "He's outnumbered three to one! He can't win!"

-"What?! Who is he fighting?!" Kenan demanded to know.

"Seifer is there with his two friends," Selphie replied after taking another peek. "But it doesn't look like Raijin and Fujin are fighting, only Squall and Seifer."

Seifer stopped attacking momentarily to catch his breath. "Not bad Leonhart, not bad at all."

-"Do you know who I am?!" Squall demanded to know, holding his gunblade like he could strike at any moment.

-"Answer me!"

He smirked, unimpressed. "You'll have to do better than that to scare me Leonhart."

And before Squall knew it, he ran straight at him for another attack.

Squall held out his gunblade to shield Seifer's.

"You're predictable Seifer!" Squall yelled as the two blades clashed. He put more pressure on his blade and forced Seifer to take a few steps back.

-"What the hell are you talking about?!" Seifer yelled furiously, circling around Squall. Damn, that guy was good!

Squall defended against another brute slash from Seifer. "I mean, you're moves are all the same as before. It's all a predictable routine."

Seifer was enraged and fired a shot of Firaga.

The shot was blocked by Squall's gunblade, but threw him with his back against the door.

"And did you see that one coming?!" Seifer yelled, cocky.

Squall laughed in disbelief. "You really don't know. You're repeating your every move…but this time you won't walk away with just a scar! You won't walk away at all!"

-"SEIFER!" Fujin called nervously. Leonhart gave her the creeps.

"Remember what the Sorceress said, ya know?!" Raijin reminded him from his safe distance away.

Seifer smirked and eyed Squall. "It seems you're quite a pest. Even Ultimecia agrees to that."

Squall shook his head. "I don't care! Your tyranny ends here Seifer!"

He held up his free head a few inches from his forehead and concentrated.

"SEIFER!" Fujin called again. "DANGER!"

-"What are you doing?!" Seifer demanded to know as the guy's hand started to glow.

_SHIT! He's charging up!_ He suddenly realized.

Without another thought running through him, Seifer charged at Squall.…but it was too late….

Before his gunblade got in range of Leonhart, he was attacked with magic.

A sphere filled with green air swirled around Seifer, picking him up and crushing him from all sides at once. The magic lasted but a few seconds but the damage done was severe and Seifer's knees gave way. He pressed his red gunblade in the floor to keep him up.

Squall crossed the gap between them in the mean time.

"Here's your scar back!" He shouted as he slashed across Seifer's forehead with his blade. Right between the eyes.

Blood oozed down Seifer's face, he cringed but didn't cry out.

Squall kicked Seifer on the floor and put his foot down hard on Seifer's stomach. "You're far weaker than you should be Seifer."

Seifer let his head fall back against the floor and closed his eyes. He waited for the finished blow.

"**Leonhart**!"

Squall looked up. A tall muscular figure appeared in between Raijin and Fujin. It was Sorceress Adel.

He quickly assumed a defensive stance. He didn't expect this fight to be as easy as the last. The last time it took three SeeDs to defeat Adel.

Adel reacted in turn by moving in closer, unthreatened.

Squall backed up to the door, his instincts telling him something wasn't right. He was expecting an attack any second now.

The Sorceress reached Seifer and took him in for a moment. He lay bleeding and defenseless.

"**Weakling, you have served your purpose**."

Seifer made an attempt to stretch out and retrieve his gunblade.

A second later she killed him with a volley of powerful pure magic. There was almost no physical damage done, it was as though she tore the soul straight out of his body.

Adel turned to Raijin and Fujin and they promptly ran to avoid suffering the same fate.

Squall had nowhere to go.

"Dincht!" Kenan yelled again. "Can you open the damn door already?!"

-"Allow me." Laguna said as he gently pushed the Commander aside.

He held up his machine gun and fired his clip empty at the glass. Luckily he had already sent off Skye towards the Airport, or she might have stood in the way.

Kenan sighed. The bullets had hardly even scratched the surface of the glass, let alone passed through it.

Zell could have told Laguna that would never work. The door was a sturdy piece of work. It could quite probably even take a direct hit from a bazooka and still not crack.

"Oh-kay…time for plan B." Laguna said. "Uh, does anyone have a plan B?"

Selphie's eyes widened. "Get out of the way, NOW!"

Instinctively, Kenan, Zell and Laguna ducked away from the door.

Selphie pushed her body against the wall next to door and had to close her eyes as a bright light came from inside.

Laguna lay on the ground with his hands covering his head, yet looked up to see what he was ducking for.

A beam from inside the Palace rushed towards him and blew the door open with an immensely powerful blast.

The yellow and orange colored beam surged past, just a few inches above his head. He could feel the intense heat.

Debris landed all around Laguna. Some pieces were still burning hot and nearly melted through the road.

His ears were ringing from the explosion.

Kenan had already gotten on his feet again and helped him up. He yelled something but it wasn't audible for Laguna.

He looked up. Smoke came from the doorway. Surely some of it lifted, revealing that the door had been almost completely destroyed. The edges on the small parts that didn't fly away were practically liquid.

Squall jumped through the doorway with his gunblade sheathed. He had a scorch-mark on his jacket…the beam must have missed him by only a few inches…

"It's Adel!" He yelled at Kenan. "I don't know if we can take her on, something is not right!"

-"Just run!" Kenan yelled back and fired through the remaining smoke with his handgun, hoping he hit the Sorceress.

Selphie helped Zell get up from under a chunk of debris and together with Laguna and Squall they ran the stretch towards the Airport without looking back.

They reached it and saw a huge Airship ascend on an even larger platform. Squall recognized it as a perfect copy of the Ragnarok, only this one was colored dark-blue.

"Over here!" Irvine shouted from the rear of the plane as the platform reached a stop.

The aft cargo entrance of the Airship was opened and Irvine stood waiting inside.

"Go!" Laguna told them. "I'll wait for the Commander! No buts! Run!"

Selphie, Squall and Zell quickly climbed aboard.

Laguna grabbed a new ammo-clip from his vest pocket and loaded his machine gun.

He breathed in and out deeply. _Come on Commander…you can make it_!

As he heard more gunfire he aimed his machine gun at the Airport entrance. Through the crosshair at the end of the gun's barrel he saw two figures running towards the Airship.

One was further ahead than the other, but was being gained on.

Thunder struck down at the figure closest to Laguna, and missed just barely.

Kenan was running for his life, randomly firing with his gun behind him.

Sorceress Adel floated above the ground but was faster than him and she would catch up before he reached the safety of the Airship.

With total disregard to his own life, Laguna ran towards the approaching Sorceress.

She stopped firing spells at the Commander as she caught eye of him.

"**La-gu-na**!!" Adel cried out, her voice filled with hatred.

He grinned and fired with his machine gun. A barrage of bullets was shot from the barrel, aimed directly at Sorceress Adel's body. Empty shells fell on the ground next to Laguna.

"**Fool**!!" Adel laughed and held up one hand as far in front of her as she could.

Her laughter overpowered even the sound of the blazing gun.

The bullets were stopped by an invisible force field just a few inches before hitting her hand and fell down.

"It's no use!" Kenan yelled without stopping. "Bullets do next to nothing."

Laguna stared Adel in the eyes, his face not giving away any emotions. He threw his machine gun down.

"Sir!" Kenan called out, now behind him. "It's no use!"

Sorceress Adel set herself down on the ground. She slowly walked closer to Laguna, enjoying the moment to its fullest.

He still didn't make a move. She had to be closer.

There was more yelling in the background. Laguna didn't listen to any of it.

The Sorceress smiled, showing her sharp fangs. "**I will take back from you that which is rightfully mine**!"

"No chance in hell!" Laguna laughed and threw a grenade in front of the Sorceress.

She looked down at the puny object showing a strange interest. "**You want to kill me with that**?!"

-"Nope." Laguna replied and threw himself down on the ground.

The Airship behind him banked left and it's main cannon lined up perfectly with Adel.

He covered his ears, and looked up at Adel. "See ya!"

Not a second later, the cannon was fired and its beam sent Adel tumbling back

Kenan rushed to Laguna's side. "Nice! Let's move!"

The Airship banked and prepped for immediate departure.

A roaring sound emanated from the four engines above. Two to left of him, two to the right.

Both Laguna and Kenan crossed the last distance needed to get aboard swiftly and Irvine signed the clear-for-take-off as soon as they climbed in the cargo bay.

An automated flight-system shut the aft doors and the engine were now set to full thrust.

Laguna lay panting on the cargo bay floor but could feel the exact moment the Airship lifted off from the ground. He experienced a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"WHOO-HOO!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and down. "We really made it!!"

Raijin and Fujin stood defeated just outside the Palace and watched the Airship soar away.

"ESCAPE!" Fujin suggested their next course of action. She was almost scared to death.

-"Yeah…" Raijin muttered, stopping his crying momentarily. "…I'm…with ya…"

------------------------------------------ 

"Are you okay, Sir?" Irvine asked, helping Laguna get up from the floor.

He hadn't realized what he had done up until now. Take on Adel head-on? What the hell was he thinking?

Laguna coughed. "I'll be fine in a moment."

He looked to his side. Commander Gantt just barely stood up straight, examining a bandage around his arm.

"We made a great team." Laguna remarked.

Kenan turned to the President with a smile, thinking he was happy about it too. Yet he was met by a blank expression on Laguna's face. Kenan let his smile fade. Now really wasn't the time to smile…he should have known.

"How did you know Kiros was going to fire the cannon?" Selphie asked from a crate she was sitting on, a bit further down the cargo bay of the Airship.

Laguna wiped the dirt of his face with two hands. "I think it's Kiros who knew I would duck, rather than me knowing he would fire, if you know what I mean."

They didn't.

He glanced around. There were quite a few crates stacked in the large cargo bay. There were food supplies that could last them a few weeks, as well as various pieces of equipment. Perhaps weapons too.

Only the Commander, Irvine and Selphie were in the cargo room with him.

-"Is everyone aboard?" He asked, his face lined with concern.

To his relief Selphie assured him they were all accounted for.

"Kiros and Quistis are in the cockpit," She explained. "The others should be in the, uh, passenger room of some sort."

-"Ah, I'll think I'll go up there if I can find the way."

Kenan run his hand through his hair. "Yeah, it is a huge plane. What's its name by the way?"

"The Einlanzer." Laguna replied as he made his way out of the cargo area.

Selphie ran up to Irvine and gave him a hug. She hadn't gotten the time to do that yet. "I'm so glad you're okay!"  
Making annoying gagging sounds, Kenan exited the cargo bay .

Irvine held his head against Selphie's. "There was no need to worry about me. Squall, Kenan and Laguna were the ones in real trouble."

"Heeey," Selphie pouted, as she backed up. "I had to run for my life too!"

Irvine grinned. "I know dear. Actually I was worried sick. I would have never forgiven myself for leaving if something happened to you back there."

She grinned too. "Aw, you're so cute!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? I knew that though, hehehe. You're quite cute yourself, you know?"

Selphie's eyes turned puppy dog-like and she fluttered her eyelashes. "Why really?"

Quistis cleared her throat, making her two mushy friends alert of her presence.

"Oh, hi ya Quisty!" Selphie chirped. "Hee-hee, how long have you been standing there?"

She smiled. "Never mind. Kiros needs you in the cockpit Selphie."

Irvine scratched the back of his head. "Can I come too?"

-"I don't see why not." Quistis replied, slightly laughing. "As long as you don't…distract…anyone."

He laughed. "I'll just have to try to hold myself back then."

Quistis led them out the cargo bay, into an equally big -yet empty- bay, then up a stairway.

Irvine whistled, impressed by the size of the Airship. "It's huge!"

They were led through a large door, which could make even the biggest of men feel tiny. Why the heck did there need to be such a large door? Then again, there were lotsa big doors in Esthar as well, he guessed those people really hated bumping their heads when walking into a room and just made sure that couldn't happen.

Well, that was one theory.

Quistis stopped. Irvine smacked into her.

He reached for his nose. "Ow..that sorta hurt.."

Selphie giggled. "Dummy, you should watch where you're going."

"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better." Irvine uttered, whimpering. "I broke my nose and you make fun of it."

Quistis sighed. "Now pay attention, the passenger deck is over there."

She pointed at a narrow hallway next to a platform she had stopped on.

"This elevator leads up to the cockpit." She explained. "Let's go."

Irvine and Selphie stepped on the elevator and they ascended towards the cockpit.

They saw Kiros sitting in one of the two pilot chairs at the front of the cockpit. He had a big manual lying on his knees and was quickly searching through it.

To Irvine's left and right were two other empty seats.

One behind the weapons' console, the other behind the radar panel.

"Mr. Kiros." Quistis spoke softly. She didn't want to startle the man. "Selphie's here."

He glanced over his should and smiled. "Ah, please take a seat."

Selphie walked to the other pilot seat and sat down.

"Do you know how to fly?" Irvine wondered, still standing on the elevator with Quistis.

She grabbed hold of the steering wheel. "Sure I do. It's real simple, I could teach anyone."

With his mouth threatening to fall open from amazement, Irvine stepped a bit further down the cockpit. He was surrounded by glass from three sides, to his left, right, and above him.

Clouds seemed to rush by, when in fact it was the Einlanzer rushing by the clouds.

Quistis got seated behind the radar panel. "The Lunatic Pandora doesn't seem to be moving. It's still hovering somewhere in to north east of Esthar. We're gaining distance from it fast."

Not quite knowing what else he could possibly do, Irvine got seated behind the weapons console-panel-thingy.

He didn't dare press any button on it. For all he knew he might just press the self-destruct switch…that would be bad.Not to mention stupid…

Kiros looked aside. "Squall said you were able pilot the Ragnarok. The Einlanzer is practically the same, only it has thicker armor and faster engines. Can you handle it?"

Selphie waved one hand up in the air and held the rudder with the other. "Whoooo! Yeah! Piece of cake!"

"Just make sure you fasten your seatbelt!" Irvine called and quickly did that himself. "After all…safety first."

"Seems I've done my part." Kiros said, putting the 'how to fly'-manual back in the space under the control panel. "I think I'll go check up on everyone now, if that's okay with you Miss Tilmitt?"

-"Uh…actually I don't know where I'm headed right now…"

Quistis chuckled. "The landing coordinates should be on your display screen Selphie."

She blinked and titled her head down. Ah, there it was. "Oh…I see it now. Thanks."

Kiros moved to the elevator.

"I'll be right back." He said and went down.

-"Yeah yeah," Selphie muttered, having the time of her life flying such a beautiful Airship. Too bad she couldn't try out some maneuvers. That would probably be an inappropriate thing to do given the current predicament.

Irvine rested his head against the window and shrugged. "Say, what _else_ don't I know about you Selphie?"

She just giggled gleefully.

_Oh well_. He thought to himself and pushed his face against the window. His nose sorta still hurt though.

He looked down and was able to see the ocean. It rolled by.

Occasionally he could even see parts of the Railway Bride through the clouds. Some parts of which he swore to recognize. But then, didn't it all look the same?

"I see another aircraft coming from the south," Quistis calmly reported from her position by the radar panel. "Attempting to identify now." She let the onboard computer do the math. It didn't take long before a reading popped up on the display.

"It's the Ragnarok II." She read on the display. "I think it's trying to contact us."

-"Roger." Selphie chirped and pressed a button on the panel in front of her.

"Einlanzer, this is the Ragnarok II." A man spoke. "Please report on status and crew."

Selphie briefly glanced over her shoulder at Quistis. "What should I say?"

-"Just tell them Esthar has been attacked." She told her. "And that we've escaped with the President."

"Okay." Selphie said and pushed the reply button. "This is Selphie Tilmitt. We escaped from Esthar after the Galbadians attacked. I'm with a team of SeeDs from Balamb Garden. Also President Laguna Loire, Mr. Kiros, Mr. Ward and Miss Ellone are on board."

There was a brief silence.

"Commander Gantt's team?" The man on the Ragnarok II asked.

-"Yes." Selphie replied.

"Roger. We'll escort you to Balamb Garden. There's some pretty rough turbulence in the landing area so be careful."

-"Acknowledged."

Irvine gulped and tightened his seatbelt even more. _Perhaps a boat trip would have been better after all…_

"We should be there in about five minutes at our current speed." Quistis told Irvine, clearly noticing his anxiety.

-"Can't be there any faster than that." Selphie added. "I LOVE flying!"

Irvine crossed his arms. "People can't fly…dummy…"


	11. AE Chapter 11

Angelus Errare 

Written by _-Laguna- _

**::Author's Note::**

I'm missing Chapter 19 of AE (the old version up before went as far as Chapter 30). My question is, can anyone possibly send me this chapter? Editing is one thing, but having to re-write an entire Chapter is not something I'm looking forward to. I know its weird how the author actually misses part of his own story but you know how it is with floppy disks and computers. Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help recover this lost chapter.

Also, if that wasn't enough, fanfiction net is giving me trouble with uploading Chapters (they seem to get split or otherwise are not uploaded for 100)

I will check back later to see whether or not the full chapter can be viewed.

**Chapter 11: Looking back…**

Kiros strolled into the passenger-deck.

It was relatively quiet -save for the monotonous hum of the engines- and considering Laguna was present and he usually could yap for hours on end.

Usually…yet not this time. Kiros had never seen his friend look more serious and lost in thought.

Squall and Commander Gantt were discussing something. Kiros couldn't hear exactly what, as they were sitting at the front of the two rows of seats. It seemed important though; there was not a smile on either guy's face.

Ward and Ellone were seated close to the entrance together with Laguna. Zell and Skye were sort of in between that group, and the two SeeDs discussing certain issues.

"Is everyone all right?" Kiros asked since nobody had noticed him standing on the passenger deck entrance yet.

Laguna glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, we're fine considering. Great cannon shot by the way."

Ward gave Kiros a thumbs-up, in agreement with Laguna.

He nodded in return and looked at Skye. "How about you Miss Skye?"

She smiled reassuringly. "Oh, I'm fine too. A little shook up by all that…but fine."

"No problems here." Zell affirmed.

Kiros walked further into the passenger deck. He didn't really mean to eavesdrop, but wondered what the Commander could be talking to Squall about.

Last time they talked it wasn't exactly a friendly conversation...

"How can you be sure?" Kenan asked calmly, but with a surprised look.

-"I've seen lifeless bodies before," Squall remarked soberly. "Adel pummeled him from close range, he didn't stand a chance."

"Seifer's dead?" Kiros asked as he walked up. "Adel killed him?"

He asked it loudly enough for everyone on the passenger deck to hear. They all looked up.

-"That's the second time I've heard he was dead…" Zell muttered.

Squall stood up in front of the rows of seats and faced everyone. "It's true. Adel murdered him in front of my eyes."

"I've heard this story before." Zell huffed.

-"I think I saw it too Zell," Kenan replied. "Adel used her pureform magic on him while he was down from Squall's blow."

Zell crossed his arms and rested his head against the back of the seat. "Well, can't say I really care. He was a nuisance. I think it suits him just right…and gives us one less thing to worry about…"

"The Sorceress's Knight? I think you have a point Zell." Laguna said. He had stood up and was now leaning against a seat next to Zell's. "Although the main problem still has to be taken care of."

Squall felt divided on the subject. He would have probably killed Seifer if Adel hadn't shown up when she did…and yet, seeing her kill Seifer as though he was just another dumb lackey of hers, it wasn't the kind of ending that fitted Seifer Almasy.

"Say Squall, what was that all about back there? What the heck happened?" Zell asked.

He showed him his gunblade. "This used to belong to Seifer. I guess he badly wanted it back. We fought briefly. Then Sorceress Adel appeared and she was far more powerful than she should be."

Skye listened to Squall's short story, paying much interest to it.. "Did she say anything? Did she know you?"

"No, she said nothing to me. She approached me without so much as a word and tried to kill me with the blast that blew apart the door."

"That isn't all," Kenan said in a taunting tone of voice. "Is it, Leonhart?"

Squall eyed Kenan. "What do you mean?"

He smirked. "I think you know what I mean. It's a little convenient for you that the Sorceress happened to miss, now isn't it? We were standing a lot further away from her and barely escaped that beam ourselves. It makes you think, maybe it was all some kind of ruse. Maybe we're supposed to trust you now since she supposedly tried to kill you."

Squall frowned heavily.

Zell rolled his eyes. "Ah, do you have to keep being like that man? Seifer's dead and Squall was lucky the Sorceress missed him."

"It's true, I think you are being stubborn, Commander." Laguna said with hands in his pockets.

-"Yes, I am stubborn." He said, untouched by the fact that some people were starting to dislike him.

Laguna would have tried to change Kenan's mind, if it wasn't for the fact that this seemed an impossible mission. Some people are just more stubborn than others, he had gathered.

Briefly, Squall considered beating the guy into believing his story. But then, that probably wouldn't be such a good idea.

So how could he ever make Kenan believe his story?

By now everyone had returned to their seats and sat silently staring out the window at the clouds racing by. Commander Gantt had a way of abruptly ending conversations.

"I'd best go back to the Bridge." Kiros excused himself, primarily directed at Ward and Laguna.

Skye smiled. "See you later Mr. Kiros."

He politely smiled back at her. "Count on it."

Squall was coming up empty on ideas in the mean time, until he overheard Ellone talking to Skye about her condition, specifically the similarities between her unexplained powers and Skye's dormant Sorceress' powers. The link was made easily enough. Ellone had shown Laguna's past to Squall, so she should be able to show _his_ past to someone else.

"I need your help with something." Squall approached Ellone, direct and straight to the point.

She gave him a strange look. "What is it Squall?"

-"Can you still send someone back into another person's past?" He asked cautiously. He wasn't sure of this Ellone was the same as the one he remembered. He wasn't really sure of _anything_, but it was worth a try. Nobody would ever truly be able to believe him without proof.

Laguna's face lit up. He knew what Squall would suggest and thought it was quite brilliantly thought of.

"Yes," Ellone replied. "I think so. It has been a while since I last did that though."

-"And can you send someone back into my past?" Squall asked thoughtfully, eyeing Commander Gantt in particular.

Kenan jumped up from his seat. "Hey!…Wait a minute…You're not saying--?"

Zell laughed. "Yeah! Of course! If you don't trust him, why don't you see if he's saying the truth for yourself Kenan?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Skye wondered.

Zell quickly explained it to her. Ellone had the ability to let people experience someone's past.

Squall turned to Kenan. "How about it? The past I've perceived can't be a lie. So either you'll find out I have been lying all this time, or you'll see that I'm telling the truth."

"Are you sure you can do it Elly?" Laguna asked with concern for Ellone's well being. "If it's too hard or takes too much--"

She chuckled. "Oh, stop worrying Uncle. I have done this before, it should work."

Kenan stared wide-eyed at Ellone and held up his hands as if to shield him from her powers. "Hey whoa, I haven't agreed to anything yet."

Zell stood up and gave him a pat on the back. "C'mon Kenan. If you do this, we can all trust Squall's telling the truth. Not just you. But hey, since you're the big shot around here, it's your mission."

Kenan grinned nervously. His outspoken opinions always got him in these kind of situations sooner or later.

-"How about it?" Laguna asked as he moved away from Ellone a bit so she had some more space to work with.

He gritted his teeth. "Okay. What the heck. As long as someone keeps an eye on Leonhart."

-"Don't worry, I will." Zell told him, knowing he'd do little more than occasionally see what the guy was doing. As long as he wasn't sabotaging the plane or killing people, everything would be fine.

Ward got up and offered Kenan to take his seat, as it was right next to Ellone's, only in the other row.

"Thanks." He said and plopped down. He strapped the seatbelt expecting the worst.

Skye sat backwards on her seat and watched the Commander. He felt very uneasy, even somewhat humiliated he'd have to endure this thing suggested by Squall.

She frowned. It was so clear to her how Kenan felt; so set in his ways, yet scared and insecure. It was more than just a vague intuition, it was a knowledge that came to her effortlessly and without clear indications and reasons as to what it exactly it was that made her reach her conclusion.

Skye retreated to her seat and panicked inwardly. There was a flood of new sensations now, all at once.

Everything was exactly as Squall had described to her all along, the so-called greater sense of awareness that a Sorceress possesses. All of sudden 'it' was just there, some unknown force awakening inside of her, unasked and unwanted.

With the others discussing the plan in the background, Skye just sat there letting it all sink in, wrestling to give it a place among her familiar senses. Above all else she wanted to cry. It felt like the first step towards becoming like Ultimecia and Adel.

She held it all in, she was ashamed of it, and scared of what the others would do. Along as she had no powers she was just harmless, but how would people react if she told them she could somehow know what was going inside their head? Vague as these senses were, some would deem it mind-reading; invading people's privacy. They would have no choice but to put the bangle back on.

She tilted her head towards the glass, biting on her knuckles. Even being turned away from the others, and trying hard to shut her senses out, she could feel everyone's presence.

Ellone and Squall in particular. Their aura felt different, though Skye didn't know how or why exactly.

"Why me?" She whispered very softly.

Oblivious to inner workings of Skye, Squall instructed Ellone. "You have to try to let him experience yesterday morning in me. Can you do that?"

-"Yesterday morning," She repeated. "Okay. I'll try Squall."

Ellone faced Kenan. "Are you ready?"

He took a deep breath. "This won't, uh, hurt, will it?"

"No of course not," She grinned. "It's more like sleeping. You'll suddenly get very tired. Don't fight this feeling."

He took one last look at Leonhart and pointed a finger at him. "For your sake, I hope you were telling the truth."

Squall chose not to reply. Gantt would find out soon enough.

"Here goes." Ellone spoke softly and closed her eyes.

She folded her hands on her lap to concentrate, then pictured Squall in her mind.

For a while she just sat there, a thin frail looking young woman wearing a one-piece green silky dress in a bright red seat designed for a soldier twice her size.

Squall thought of the good times he had with Ellone back at the Orphanage, before she was snatched away. He had strong feelings for her, but not in the romantic sense.

A lot of what Squall felt he saw reflected in Laguna's eyes as he watched Ellone like a Antlion stalking a Gat.

Ellone was family.

But she didn't know him.

…

Squall's thought became more depressing in nature. He tried to clear his mind and told himself it would solve nothing to trail off in self-pity at this point. Rinoa was out there somewhere, and she wouldn't have forgotten the promise that they made. Right now he needed to prove himself and once that was over they would be able to focus on a solution.

Squall felt a slight tingling sensation. A soft kind of tickle at the back of his head, but it felt like it was on the inside. Was this how it felt to have memories 'extracted'?

Ellone tensed a little. "You are fighting it, Commander."

-"I'm not. I don't even feel anything."

Commander Kenan Gantt sat looking like the guy in the dentist chair. He uncomfortably cooperated but obviously with the hopes of having it over with soon.

Squall still couldn't figure out what Kenan was doing as the Commander in his stead. He had never met him before, yet there he was as Balamb Garden's Commander.

Kenan's rough cut looks bore resemblance to almost all male Balamb Garden students. Was he just a random guy filling the spot?

There's was no real animosity from Squall towards Kenan, even though the guy had shown more than enough himself. There were just too many blanks to jump to any kind of conclusion on the matter at this point.

_Time Compression? Did something go wrong? _Squall thought. _Did the past get mixed up? But why three weeks later? It doesn't make any sense. Why didn't Seifer turn out good and become Commander instead of Kenan? Or even Quistis, she would be more than capable. _

His head was spinning. He really didn't want to go down that path again, as he knew he'd just end up picturing Rinoa and the way she looked the moment before she vanished.

If anything, Squall was an expert at shutting out strong emotions. And he did so, knowing they would come back later twice as strong.

"Still don't feel drowsy." Commander Gantt's voice brought Squall back to the here and now.

"You will." Ellone said unhindered in her efforts.

"Count moogles." Zell added. "It's what I do. A thousand should do the trick."

"Hmm." Kenan mumbled. "Now I picture a sea of white fluffyness with pom-poms sticking out everywhere, saying Kupo-kupo in squeaky voices."

"Eh, forget it. Just clear your mind man."

Laguna brought his index finger to his mouth.

There was silence in the room.

Kiros and Laguna shared a look.

Squall got the impression they'd done this sort of thing before and knew it was about to set in.

Not long thereafter, Kenan's head sagged down every so slightly.

Zell carefully poked him in the shoulder and immediately retracted his arm.

No reaction.

A broad mischievous smile formed. "I wish I had toothpaste…"

------------------------------------------

_Where the hell am I?_

_"Hello?"_

_"Hellooo? Is anyone there?"_

_Heck, am I even talking out loud? I can't hear myself talk…_

_"Ellone, can you hear me? It isn't working!"_

Squall.

_"Who said that?"_

….

"Squall." Skye called again, more forcefully this time.

Ah, Sorceress Skye? She's talking to…Squall…I'm…in his body. Right…weird. Never knew leather felt this good on the inside…

It took Squall a few seconds to realize where he was as he opened his eyes. He got up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Still feeling sleepy, he gathered his stuff from under the bed.

_Whoa, I feel sleepy too. Just like Leonhart…this is weird…_

Skye sat down next to him. "Sorry I had to wake you so soon, but I have a feeling we'd better go now."

_"Go where? Why? Will someone please tell me what is happening? Is this the past?"_

Squall put on his boots, and looked at Skye. "Are the Galbadians here?"

_Hmm…this room doesn't look familiar_. _"Dammit Leonhart, look up, I want to get a better view of the room!"_

She shook her head. "…Balamb Garden…"

_Ah ha! This must be…_

He noticed the room's door was wide open. Balamb Garden…here? Docked in FH?

_Bingo, Fisherman's Horizon._.

Putting on his jacket, Squall stood up. "Okay, we'd best hurry."

_Yeah…you hurry Leonhart_.

"Right." Skye agreed, moving to the doorway. She had already grabbed her backpack and seemed ready to go.

-"Did you even sleep?" Squall asked, quickly grabbing his gunblade and backpack.

_This seems wrong_. _This is yesterday, but I think it's in the afternoon…maybe evening…_

She smiled. "Not really, but it's okay. Someone had to be on watch."

_Oh? Standing watch over Leonhart, eh? She has potential yet…_

Squall looked around the room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

_Man…what a crappy room…what is this? A cheap hotel? I wonder if I missed a romantic moment between the two?_

As he walked to the hotel hall, Skye shut the room's door, handing the key to Squall.

"The Garden arrived a few minutes ago." She explained. "I haven't seen anyone come out though."

_Definitely the wrong time_ _for me to be inside Squall's head_.

-"They're probably after us." Squall said as they walked down the hall.

She looked thoughtful for a second, then shook her head. "No, it's because of me."

_That reminds me…Headmaster Cid is going to have a scare when we come back with her…_

_"Ellone?"_

_"This is not far back enough, do you hear me Ellone? I have to go further back in the past_._"_

------------------------------------------

They both awoke at about the same time.

Zell immediately jumped up. "Did it work?"

Kenan rubbed his eyes, then looked up at Zell hovering over him.

"No, it wasn't far back enough."

Laguna got down on his knees next to Ellone. "You okay?"

-"Of course." She said. Although truth being she was a bit dazzled.

Squall folded his arms over his chest. "You were in FH, weren't you?"

Kenan raised an eyebrow. "And how did you know that?"

-"I remembering feeling something odd."

Laguna nodded and for the first time since they fled from Esthar smiled. "Like fairies were watching over you…"

"Something like that."

"I used to love that feeling." Laguna fondly reminisced. "Those fairies gave us the edge in combat."

-"Can I try again?" Ellone interrupted. "Though it didn't work, I did narrow it down a bit."

Kenan closed his eyes. "Go ahead."

------------------------------------------

"You frown a lot, don't ya?" A girl said laughingly.

_Sigh…I wonder where I am? That voice…her again? It looks dark in here…and damp…hmm…sorta smelly too…_

He turned to her.

-"H-ey, w-what?" Skye asked uncomfortably.

_Skye again!_ _So what does this mean?_

…

_Nothing much…I suppose…_

"You're not a student here, right?" Squall asked, unable to recognize her.

_Nope._

-"No. I was found washed ashore two days ago. They brought me here for a medical check-up." She answered, not sounding too cheery anymore.

… _I'm guessing Skye's thoughts now?_

"Washed ashore?"

_Hey wait a sec! Headmaster Cid never told me this._

-"Yeah. The doctor believes I was involved in some sort of accident at sea." The girl replied.

_She seems to be sure of herself_.

"And they locked you up for that?"

-"No, not right away. It wasn't until I talked to the Headmaster." She said, looking down.

…_I have to talk to him when I get back to Balamb Garden…_

A sudden feeling of tiresome came over Squall. Even though it must have hardly been after noon, it felt as though an entire day had passed. He couldn't help but yawn.

_Is he sensing me now? "Hey Leonhart! Am I the one making you feel tired? Huh?"_

-"Oh, am I boring you?" She asked with a surprised tone of voice.

_"Yes_._"_

"No, I'm just tired." Squall answered.

_Guessed that one wrong, I suppose_.

The girl walked over to the prison door. She carefully knocked on it, the sound of it too faint to be heard on the other side of the door. Judging by the sound, it was quite a sturdy door.

-"I don't know how," The girl said with a determined look. "But I'm getting out of here."

_That…is true_.

Her fire-like hair seemed to glow for just an instance. Or maybe it was just the sunlight shining on it at just the right angle.

"So who are you, where are you from?" Squall asked, and was amazed by his own sudden interest.

_Yeah…sudden interest, huh?_ _The term is testosterone Leonhart…_

Frowning, she shook her head.

-"I can't remember. Doctor Kadowaki diagnosed me with amnesia." She said. "Although according to the identity tag I was wearing, my name is Skye."

_Very touching, but still wrong, this isn't the right time_.

-"Kenan?"

_"Yes? Is that you Ellone? I…can't see anything…"_

-"Technically speaking, we're still sleeping."

_"I see_._"_

…

_"Well, not technically speaking of course_._"_

-"Never mind. I'll try to get it right now, without having to wake up first, okay?

_"You can do that?"_

"Yeah."

"_So you must have really nice dreams all of the time?"_

-"I have no powers over my own dreams. I have nightmares just like everyone else."

"_Think you cure mine though?"_

"Commander…"

"Okay, sorry, never mind. Onwards."

_Hmm, I wonder if I'll see Skye again_.

------------------------------------------

It felt as though his body weighed at least ten tons as Squall slowly realized he lay in bed in his quarters.

_Squall's in bed…does this mean I'm lying in bed with another man?! Damn…better not put this in my report_.

"Wakey, wakey." Squall heard Rinoa say.

_R-rinoa? She's here? But, where is here?_

Birds were chirping outside. A cool breeze passed his face. Balamb Garden always was a nice place to wake up in.

_Rinoa, in Balamb Garden? _

But Squall's eyes remained shut and he lay perfectly still.

_Is my presence effecting him? _

"Alright then." Rinoa said saucily, hands on her hips. "You asked for it."

She pulled his sheets and uncovered Squall's feet.

_I feel…a draft…_

Rinoa rolled up her sleeves and stretched her fingers. "Let's see if you can resist my tickle torture."

_I sort of hope I don't have to endure that, thank you very much_.

Immediately Squall's left eye popped open. "No, I'm awake, I'm awake."

_Phew, thanks Leonhart, close one_.

For a few seconds the unexpected brightness completely blinded him. But surely a figure appeared next to him.

_It…it IS Rinoa! In Balamb Garden! Holy hotdogs! Leonhart is telling the truth?_

"Hey, good morning mister Leonhart, I trust you slept well?" Rinoa joyfully said.

_Okay, okay…he said it happened out in the fields…well?…this could take a while…_

Squall crawled up with his back to the wall holding his hand in front of the light. He now opened both his eyes and slowly they began to focus. Rinoa stood directly next to him. Apparently she had opened up the curtains, and thrown open the window. As Squall regained normal vision, he noticed Rinoa's outfit in particular. She was wearing something he'd never seen before. It looked a lot like a female SeeD's formal uniform, but altered, more festive.

_Beautiful as ever_.

_Say, but what IS she doing in his bedroom?!_

……

_Do I wanna know?_

"Well…actually," Squall said. "I had this weird dream."

_Uh-oh_.

He rested his hand on his forehead. "Involved a lot of running…"

Looking at Rinoa, he saw a warm smile appear on her face.

"Was I in your dream?" Rinoa asked. "I was, wasn't I?"

_Stop, I really don't wanna hear anymore!_

He sat up straight, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and reached for the floor with his feet.

"You'd rather I dream about another girl?" Squall replied looking up at her.

_Ha…good one…_

Rinoa gave Squall a surprised look. "Hey, careful now," She said. "You're developing a sense of humor. This could be dangerous."

Squall shook his head. "Whatever…"

_Ugh…don't shake your head too much…I'm getting a headache…_

"There you go again with the 'whatever'-thing," Rinoa chuckled.

She extended her arm towards Squall. "Need a hand getting up?" She kindly asked.

"No thanks. Just give me a minute." He replied.

Rinoa placed her hands on her hips again. "Hurry up already."

_Yeah, that would be nice_.

Squall looked across the room at the small clock hanging on the opposite side of the door.

She followed his gaze. "Yes, it IS breakfast time. So get up mister."

_"Ellone? Just a bit further, we're close, but not yet there…"_

------------------------------------------

"Halt!" Two Garden faculty guarding the Cafeteria yelled in synchrony as Squall approached. The two dark-robed figures side stepped towards each other and formed a barrier, blocking the narrow corridor. Squall gave him an annoyed look, and showed his ID card once more. Another thing he didn't understand, why did he constantly have to identify himself?

_Hmm? This is slightly too far back_

The guards examined the card for a moment until they got out of the way, motioning Squall he could proceed.

-"Why all the guards?" Squall asked in an attempt to grasp the situation in the Garden.

"We are vulnerable right now, so we expect an attack from the Galbadians." The Garden Faculty explained. "Thus Commander Gantt tightened the security around here."

_Yup, that's me. _

"Ellone, I'd love to see myself through Squall's eyes but…well, just send me back a little further if you can…"

------------------------------------------

Kenan's eyes popped open. _Where am I now?_

He noticed Zell still hovered over him and sighed. _Oh, the present I guess_.

"Did you see it?" He curiously asked.

-"Not yet. I did see Rinoa however…"

Zell's eyes went wide. "So this means?"

Kenan held up his hand. "Not yet. I have to see what happened to Squall that got him here in the first place."

Ellone grinned. "You've stopped calling him Leonhart now?"

He frowned. "Never mind. Are you ready again?"

Laguna moved away from her and Kenan could see her face. It showed exhaustion.

She nodded. "I can do it, but only once more."

"Roger that." Kenan said and closed his eyes again, ready for the 'dreamworld'.

Some seconds later he felt his head getting heavier and heavier.

"Yeah. I believe so." Squall said with a worried look. "But he never actually told me this."

_Whoa, is this the right place?_

_Hmm…let's see. A picnic… … out in the fields near Balamb…damn…this is it…_

_Now what is he talking about?_

"Just that he wanted to see me after we defeated Ultimecia." Squall continued. "But I'm not sure I want to see him…"

…_Defeated Ultimecia…_

With a smile Rinoa assured Squall whatever he thought was best was okay with her.

Suddenly a shot of pain ran through Squall. It felt like someone was pounding his head with a hammer.

_Yeah, hi, it's me again…_

He cringed and moved his hand against his forehead.

"I think I'm coming down with something." He said. "I don't feel so good. Maybe I'd better go."

_Am I causing pain now? Maybe I shouldn't keep entering the same person's memories.._

Rinoa put her arm around Squall. "Just a bit longer…" She whispered. "You know once this moment has passed it will never come again…"

_By Odin! They really are lovers!_

With a nod Squall agreed. His head still aching.

_Hehe, sorry Squall, shouldn't have yelled huh?_

"And Seifer…" Squall realized. "What about him?"

_He died didn't he?_

-"I think he knows he was wrong. I doubt we'll get any trouble from him anymore." Rinoa tried to assure Squall who still wasn't fully convinced. "Last I heard, he was staying in Fisherman's Horizon."

_Seifer in FH? Everything must be radically different for Squall…_

"As long as he just stays there." Squall said, taking a few more sips from his soda.

-"You worry too much." Rinoa concluded.

She pointed at a small cake she had brought with her.

_Looks delicious…_

"Be a dear, and hand me a piece of that cake I got from the lunch-lady. It looks delicious." Rinoa said looking at Squall with puppy dog eyes.

Squall sighed and bent forward, simply grabbing the whole cake.

"There you go." He said.

Surprised by a sudden nudge from Rinoa, Squall raised an eyebrow. "What??"

_He isn't the brightest… _

Giggling, she shook her head.

"You're supposed to feed me pieces goof." She said. "That's what couples do."

_I think I pretty much envy him at this point_.

"Yeah…well I forgot to read the manual on this…" Squall explained.

_This is too embarrassing to witness…_

He broke off a small piece and fed Rinoa. "Happy now?" He asked.

-"Hmm, food's excellent. Lousy service though." Rinoa laughed and turned to Squall.

"It wouldn't hurt to smile." She said as she noticed his troubled look.

She shrugged and tried to imitate Squall's expression.

"Hey, cut that out. I'm just not used to smiling, okay?" He explained.

_Bad childhood?_

Rolling up her sleeve, Rinoa turned to Squall. "I'll just have to work on that, now won't I?"

"Yeah okay." Squall said slightly grinning. "Just don't expect me to turn out as hyper as Selphie."

Rinoa laughed, and snuggled up even closer to Squall.

Images suddenly flashed through Squall's mind. They were vague and dark like old photographs, yet at the same time so very clear. Clearer than memories or dreams. He sees a figure looking at him from a distance. This figure closes with each image until he or she is almost within reach. A laugh. Everything goes dark but the same twisted laughter keeps echoing.

_What was that? It was…a person…a woman I think…but…who…where…?_

He shook his head and realized he was still sitting next to Rinoa in the fields near Balamb Garden.

_I'm actually seeing Squall seeing things. Shared craziness?_

As he stood up a blue circle appeared on the ground around him. It flashed brightly and began swirling.

_Shit, this is it!_

_-What!_

_My thoughts exactly Leonhart!_

Terrified, Rinoa backed away from Squall and in doing so tripped over a small stone.

Squall reached for his head with both hands. The sudden headache had returned, far worse now than before. He had to fight a severe pain to stay focused.

_Ugh! I feel it too! It isn't being caused by me, is it!?_

"What's going on!" Squall yelled trying to make sense of everything.

He turned to Rinoa. She lay on the ground staring at Squall with wide eyes. Tears appeared .

"Squall, what's happening to you?" She demanded to know.

The air around Squall's body lit up dark blue. He stretched his arms in front of him, closely examining them.

_T-this is too much…this can't be real!_

-"Is Ellone doing this??" Rinoa asked.

_Ellone…?_

"Ugh…I…don't…know…!" Squall barely managed to say under the excruciating pain he felt.

He tried to walk towards Rinoa. She got up from the grass and extended her arm towards him.

"Grab my hand Squall!" Rinoa shouted, tears now rolling down her face.

_"Rinoa!"_

He could see her mouth move but couldn't hear what she was saying.

_She won't let you go, that's what she said Squall!_

A blinding light emanated from where Rinoa stood and in the blink of an eye she disappeared right in front of Squall.

Then the blue circle widened on the ground around him and became white. Streams of blue light whirled around Squall, like tentacles growing upwards to the sky.

_It's…beautiful…_

As he looked down, the ground he stood on faded and Squall fell through the void it left.

…

_"Ellone! Get me out now! I can't breathe!"_

------------------------------------------

"Is he--?"

-"No." Laguna observed. "Look, he's snapping out of it."

Suddenly Kenan started heaving heavily, as if fighting to get every bit of air he could. He was hyperventilating.

Zell hold him down by his shoulders. "Kenan! Relax! You're aboard the Einlanzer again."

Kenan opened his eyes and noticed they'd all gathered around him. Even Ellone had gotten up. She must have known she couldn't be harmed by anything that happened in the past. So, she didn't experience it like Kenan did…

"Commander? Whatever happened, you're okay now."

His respiration returned to normal.

-"So you saw it?" Squall asked.

Kenan replied with a slight nod, still being too shocked to speak up.

He'd probably blurt incoherent stuff if he tried to talk at this time.

"It was…terrible…" Skye mumbled, drawing in the strong sense of emotion turmoil she managed to receive through means unknown.

Kenan looked up at her questioningly.

She smiled nervously. "Uh, it must have been I mean. Judging by the look on your face."

Now clearly wasn't the time to tell him she had begun to sense certain things.

Zell let go of Kenan's shoulders, seeing he recovered from the shock.

"What did you see Kenan?" He asked.

He turned his head aside and coughed a few times.

-"Everything." He stated. "I saw it all. Leonha--, I mean, Squall…is telling the truth."

Zell gasped. "Everything he said is true?"

-"As far is I can tell, yeah."

Laguna eyed the Commander. "Do you know what exactly happened to Mr. Leonhart now?"

He reached for his forehead. "N-no. I don't know what it was. Just that it aint normal. Squall literally fell through the ground. And Rinoa really did just vanish all of a sudden."

"Wow," Zell breathed. "That's amazing."

-"I'm glad it's finely settled." Squall said with genuine relief.

Kiros laughed. "Glad? That's a bit of an understatement."

He frowned. "This only confirms what happened to me in the past, in doesn't solve anything in the present. It confirms that this isn't some kind of story that I just made up, what I saw, the hole that swallowed me up, it was real. It happened."

"Consider it a start," Laguna pointed out. "To finding out how you got here. And at least you've gained the Commander's trust now, right?"

Kenan unbuckled his seatbelt and crawled up from his seat. "I guess so. That was really intense."

Grinning, Zell supported the back of his head with his hands. "I don't think he likes actually admitting he was wrong."

"Yeah, okay, I made some wrong assumptions based on the information I had. I know that now." He said, making his way to the doors. They slid open.

"We'll be landing soon," He told them, half-glancing over his shoulder. "I suggest you all get seated and buckle up."

Skye made brief eye-contact and got conflicting feelings coming from the Commander towards her, but she couldn't discern them, but they were predominantly negative however.

Fear, distrust and maybe even hatred.

Kenan walked out of the room and the doors closed up behind him. Another abrupt conversation ending.

The rest strapped themselves in for the inevitable landing.

"Hey look!"

An excited Zell pressed his cheek against the glass and peered down.

The Airship was flying over land!

"Kinda barren and dry...this must be the Centra continent!

"Zone Two…" Laguna mumbled to himself. "Let's hope Selphie is a good pilot."

Whilst everyone stared down from the plane, either to the left or right, Ward stared in front of him, worrying. Dark clouds seem to lay waiting for them up ahead.

A rather sudden announcement over the intercom gave everyone a bit of a fright.

"Hello everyone!" Selphie's voice rung cheerily through a speaker nearby. "I just wanted to say we'll be landing in about a minute from now, and..uh..you'd better have strapped yourselves in because this could be a bit bumpy."

-"Ugh." Zell uttered, hands on his belly. "I just had this sinking feeling in my stomach!"

------------------------------------------

"Hey, hey, hey!" Irvine called out. "What do you mean 'severe storms'?"

Selphie was too busy trying to keep the plane in one piece to be able to answer. Apparently there was a lot of turbulence in the area they were about to land.

-"Not to worry." Kiros assured from the other pilot seat. "Miss Tilmitt will guide us through safely."

Irvine shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as the white clouds that raced by gradually became darker.

"I can see why this makes a good hiding place." Quistis remarked. "Who would go to an area such as this one? Not even the Galbadians would search here."

Kiros turned to the ex-Instructor. "No matter where we go, Sorceress Ultimecia will find us sooner or later. She won't give up until she knows all threats have been eliminated."

Just when Irvine was starting to feel a little bitter…Kiros had to go say something like that…

"Einlanzer, reduce speed and slowly start descending." The man aboard the Ragnarok II instructed Selphie. "Try to keep it steady at all times, since the Airship will get a tendency to stall."

-"Okie dokie!" She responded cheerfully and did as the man told her.

Quistis chuckled. "Okie dokie? I don't think that's the correct reply according to the formal rules of communication."

"That's Selphie for ya." Irvine pointed out. "Un-formal."

Just then a thunderbolt struck down from the dark clouds, illuminating the entire area for a second.

It didn't strike near the Einlanzer, yet gave everyone quite a startle.

Suddenly all kinds of dots filled up the radar screen Quistis sat behind. At first each dot was interpreted as by the onboard computer as an armed threat, but she knew that couldn't be right.

"There seems to be strange electrical activity in this whole area." She concluded. "It's interfering with our systems."

"Haven't we seen this before?" Irvine asked.

-"Yes." Quistis said after a few moments of thought. "There is an area near Trabia Garden with similar disturbance."

Kiros looked down at the small display of the world map on his console. "Zone Three."

The Airship suddenly banked right and avoided a thunder strike.

Irvine had smacked against the glass window with his cheek.

"Ow…great flying dear." He sighed, rubbing his –stupendously mild- injury.

Quistis glanced at the storms which now completely surrounded the Einlanzer on all sides.

"Mr. Kiros?" She called. "If this is Zone Two, and the area near Trabia Garden Zone Three, where is Zone One?"

He crossed his arms. "Somewhere deep in the ocean I've been told. I remember scientists from all over the world came to study that area when first discovered thirty or forty years ago. They had some kind of Research Island there. It was called The Deep Sea Research Institute or something along those lines. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Irvine looked up. He remembered hearing Zell rant about some kinda facility in the ocean before. "Uhm, didn't they research Guardian Forces?"

-"Yes." Kiros replied, amazed Mr. Kinneas knew of it. "A lot of what we know about GF and Magic today was researched there."

Before Irvine could ask exactly what, Selphie started the final descent as instructed.

She could hardly see anything through the dark clouds, and the guidance system wasn't working, but the man on the Ragnarok II assured her that Balamb Garden was 'parked' nearby.

Irvine braced himself. Which is to say he tightly held on to the weapons console in front of him; avoiding any contact with the buttons on it as if they were red-hot.

"Okay." He heard the man say to Selphie. "You're almost there now. Ease her in, nice and slow."

------------------------------------------

Kenan held on to the guardrail until he felt the Airship had landed. There was a brief and loud thud, but other than that it appeared a perfect and safe landing.

As the sounds of the engines dulled it suddenly turned very quiet.

Kenan had developed a headache after the dream sequences, not because of the process itself, but rather the implications of what was shown to him.

Squall had been right and presumably about everything. This meant that Sorceress Ultimecia could have already been defeated and all casualties suffered in the last three weeks could have been avoided entirely. This thing was supposed to be over, yet presently the situation grew even worse.

Galbadia would have complete control over Esthar in no time, the attacker's force outnumbered them greatly.

All the while they'd been moving further away from the solution by choosing not to attack the Lunatic Pandora, and Kenan was the one most responsible for this strategy.

The lives lost as a result of the attack today were on his hands, and he didn't even what to think about his sister's condition.

He felt weak inside and leaned on the guardrail as though he was about to collapse. He was avoiding to live up to this the past weeks…the enemy was slowly winning, and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it either.

He heard the rest of the team approach as they exited the cockpit and passenger bay, and he stood up, trying to mask his feelings. He was their Commander, if he starting showing doubt morale could plummet even further than it already had.

He pasted on a slight not-too-obvious smile. "C'mon everyone, the Headmaster is probably already waiting for us outside."

Skye followed in Squall's footsteps and as she passed the Commander could easily see through his façade, scolding herself for being able to do so..

She wondered now if the bangle was really that bad…


End file.
